Against All Odds: Extraction
by Dr1ft3r0I
Summary: A fanfic/collab on a fanfic. Tom Walls may want to forget the horrors of ONI, but they haven't forgotten him. But they don't have the authority on interdimensional travel, so they ask for the assistance of a group of commandos to find Tom, dead or alive. But things quickly spiral out of control, and the lives of many will never be the same. Original fic belongs to XxReaperxX707.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Search and Rescue…With a Bunch of Guns and Bombs**

_0932 Hours, GMT Standard, Ft. Bragg, N. Carolina_

Nobody in the central command bunker in Ft. Bragg for the Dimensional Rift Reconnaissance's First Battalion knew exactly how old their lieutenant colonel was. That particular piece of intel was beyond the highest level of classification, and even the President of the United States, head of the country in which the group was formed, didn't even know. And for the most part, nobody really cared. After all, it wasn't every day you got to see a lieutenant colonel boss around four stars.

Currently, an armored figure was standing behind a pair of technicians, watching a holographic display that to the average person, soldier, and occasional aberration from the Forbidden Realms, made absolutely no sense at all. What it displayed, for those in the know, (and there were only a handful across an entire _**multiverse**_ that knew) was simply the multiverse, where, as the lieutenant colonel was fond of saying, "If it could happen, then it sure as hell happened."

"So," spoke the armored figure, the electronic voice carrying a slight ring of bass, "What happened? Because normally, I don't get calls at two in the morning saying that you guys are throwing a wild party in DRIFT CENTCOM."

The technician to the figure's left spoke. "Sir, we had a very brief universal connection with H117-D5 and DI055-A2. The event lasted for no more than one point zero zero zero six five two seconds at 0640 event local time."

The figure sighed. "So, what went through?" This time, the tech to the right spoke.

"After chronometric displacement was calculated, we think it was a human, nowhere close to any stray tachyons from a transferring Digimon found sir."

The figure nodded. "Extraction needed?"

Right nodded. "Our liaison at the UNSC has stated that a Spartan V went missing about thirty-six hours ago from their end. Subject is Spartan 707, was still technically a candidate, even after the augs." The two technicians could almost see their commander's eyes roll around in annoyance.

"Great, a property retrieval case, just what we need. I still have to calculate our budget and renew our contract with Driftech, not to mention brief the USCMC on why we cannot help them against their xenomorph problem," he said, gesturing to his office a floor above them.

Left snorted. "Sir, we figured that this would be an easy assignment. Hell, we took the liberty of putting you and a small squad on duty to retrieve the Spartan." If looks could kill, then Left would be a smoking hole in the ground by now.

"Which squad?"

"Delta, of course," said Right as he typed away at his keyboard, looking at a much smaller and closer holoscreen. "You will be leaving on TACRIFT Pad three at 1500 sir, and extraction will be by DSC-189 Halo gunship. UNSC NAVSPECWAR has not stated how Spartan 707 be retrieved, except that he be alive and fit for duty." Right turned to look at the figure. "Any questions sir?"

The figure nodded. "Just one. Why is it that you, a technician ranked at specialist, is ordering me, a lieutenant colonel, to go on a mission?"

Left shook her head. "Standard procedure sir. All able officers must take part in a field mission once every two months. You're four months overdue." The figure slumped in defeat. He hated it when the rules he wrote were brought out, and it sometimes just sucked to have to follow them. But, he was the first .R, so he may as well act the part.

_Tactical Rift Pad Three, 1457_

The Lt. Colonel, call sign "Coyote," was actually happy that he could work with Delta squad again. By far the best team in the battalion, if not the best anywhere.

Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Ronin: Sniper, loner, and bookworm. He was an anthromorphic Artic Fox with a heavily modified Walther 2000 sniper rifle. Currently checking his stealth detection pack. Call sign: Ronin, of course. Carried an S&W .700 revolver.

Corporal Melanie McShane: One of the only people Coyote knew who actually liked having a bomb blow up in her face. Currently hauling enough rockets, grenades, and explosive charges to sink every military maritime vessel on Earth several times over. Former marine. Call sign: Mother, and not due to any maternal traits. M79 Blooper, Javelin Missile launcher, and XM8G assault rifle.

Medical Specialist Varakäs'aüldan: A silver dragon who was currently in elven form. Most people just called him Varak. Very calm most of the time, except when innocent civilians were killed in cold blood. That and demons. Armed with a Desert Eagle and an MAT 19 SMG.

Gym: a Driftech X105 Autonomous Assault Bot, his strength came from understanding what it was people needed. Also a good hacker. The machine's plasma cannon, 5.56 mm Gatling, and sheer punching power would come in handy. Couldn't talk, but was definitely a heavy gesturer.

Then there was Kat. She was…well, one of the most unpredictable privates in existence, bar none. She was a lethal weapon with anything and everything she could get her hands on. Currently armed with a spork.

As for Coyote, he had an M7S SMG, Driftech Beam Cannon, MA37 with a by four scope and 45 round clip, an M6D .5 semiautomatic with extended clip, PCW-R SMG (it was a railgun), two frag grenades, two plasmas, and a pair of throwing knives. Looking at the clock inside his helmet, Coyote waved his team onto the pad to await being sent across who knew how many universes to their mission.

Thankfully they only had to wait ten seconds on the pad before being sucked into a flash of blinding blue light.

**This is a collaboration between myself, Dr1ft3r0I or Mechnut721, and XxReaperxX707 regarding an AU of his original story, "Against All Odds." Now, I do edit his story, but that is his story, and he does what he wants with it. This though will be introducing both our RP characters and the chaos that will soon follow. So, to recap: this is ****not**** XxReaperxX707's actual continuation of his story, this is just an AU/RP of what would happen if our characters actually met besides the chatroom. **

**Coyote: Can I have a brownie?**

**Dr1ft3r0I: No. **

**Coyote: Please? *Begs with puppy dog eyes***

**Dr1ft3r0I: That won't work if I can't see your face. Besides, you're just a figment of my imagination.**

**Coyote: True, but then again, if I were just a figment of your imagination, then why would I be telling you to start drawing those [Censored] comics that you said you were going to draw two **_**years**_** ago?**

**Dr1ft3r0I: …**

**Coyote: My point exactly. Now faithful readers, enjoy the rest of this fic and read and review!**

**Tom and Rena: That's my line!*shouts at the same time***


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Roll Call and Departure

_Planet Orion, Ft. Hood_

"Listen up!" shouted Captain Alexander Martinez as he looked upon the company of Spartan Vs in front on him assembled in parade rest. "This may be the _only_ time any of you will get to see a Dimensional Rift Reconnaissance trooper, so pay attention! And last but not least, look sharp people!" All of a sudden, a small blue…_tear_ appeared in the space reserved for high ranking dignitaries of the UNSC military and the representatives of Sanghelios and the newly discovered Voxins, a race of vulpinoids from somewhere outside the newly reclaimed Outer Colonies. It grew larger, slowly at first, but then glowed brightly.

"Atten-_shun!_"

With a massive flare of light, the rift soundlessly exploded, leaving the shocked Spartans – and their CO – with a rather odd sight. Some weird pink haired girl dressed in an offshoot of the old Mk. V MJOLNIR armor – well, actually, her and three others were suited in a MJOLNIR style combat suit – was currently hugging a clearly annoyed Arctic Voxin, the latter glaring at her. The Spartans also gazed in awe at the Sangheili sized robot at the back of the group. The person in an EOD suit was also interesting, with all the bombs, rockets, and all other sorts of explosives strapped onto the soldier.

What truly fascinated the Spartans was the fairly small soldier who now marched confidently up to Captain Martinez. Even though they were all about twenty meters away from the two, all of the Spartans within the first few rows could see the newcomers shining silver oak leaf cluster. Captain Martinez saluted immediately.

"Captain Alexander Martinez, serial number 55672-99070 AM sir!" He said. Most, if not all of the Spartans could hear their CO say this. The lieutenant colonel nodded.

"Name is Coyote, and I'll be the one in charge of this recovery op," he said, returning the captain's salute. "Now captain, what's your role here?"

Captain Martinez relaxed slightly. "Sir, I'm in charge of all of Beta Company's operations and procedures," he stated, turning to face the Spartans under his command. "If I may sir, I would like to say that –"

"_KATHERINE ALEXANDRA DESSERICH, LEAVE THE SNIPER ALONE_! _HE DOES NOT WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU_!" yelled Coyote in fury. Everybody present, sans three, turned to look as Kat tried to make lewd advances toward the fox, the key word being tried. Kat was about to retort to her commanding officer when the robot walked over to her and lifted her into the air by the back of her combat vest.

Captain Martinez turned back to look at Coyote, who was currently muttering something about "what the hell are those recruiters thinking?" under his breath. Martinez wasn't sure, but he was absolutely sure that Coyote's face was scrunched up in anger behind the dull black visor of his helmet.

"Sir, about why we called you?" It was a rare occurrence that the captain showed anything close to meekness to anybody; that was reserved for the retired Lord Hood, the Arbiter, and other select members of both the UNSC and her allies.

"Yes, you called us about a missing Spartan," Coyote bluntly stated as his team moved towards the base's motor pool. Martinez nodded.

"Well, technically ONI did sir, but reasons aside, Spartan 707 disappeared at 0640 hours local time; that was about thirty – six hours ago. Last person to see him was Spartan 667." Martinez pointed towards a Spartan in the front row of the company formation. Coyote glanced over at the Spartan, glad that no one could see his disapproving face. He seemed to be a fairly typical example of what a Spartan should be: six and a half feet tall, back ramrod straight, and a spit-and-polish living weapon that didn't question orders. Also dressed in the new MJOLNIR Mk. X Powered Assault Armor. But for Coyote, something just didn't seem right about the guy.

"Sir, if anybody can help you fetch 707, Master Sergeant Zachary can. Now-"Captain Martinez said before he was interrupted by Coyote.

"Captain, I don't give a rat's ass about what he can do, I just want to know if he can get the job done without letting his emotions get a hold of him," Coyote interrupted sharply, helmet turned to look at his team approaching on a transport 'Hog that also had a LAAG right behind the shotgun seat and a Mongoose hitched to the back. Gym was of course not on it. Ronin was driving, Varak had the turret, Mother had shotgun, and Kat was hog tied in the back, if her constant stream of curses were any indication. "I'm also going to need whatever files you have on Spartan 707 transferred to my TACPAD. I'm sure you know the value of good intel."

Martinez nodded silently. "Of course sir. Now, I have to remind you sir that the Spartans are UNSC property, more specifically ONI's so please make sure that both 707 and 667 make it back, preferably alive," the middle-aged captain said. "I've been authorized by my superiors to grant you access to whatever you need. However, the damn spooks won't give you all the files on Tom, so – "

"Tom? Is that 707s name?" asked Coyote curiously as he walked towards the modified transport 'Hog, Martinez and Zach following.

"Yessir, and as an early warning, he's a sniper – scout, so you may not find him as easily as whatever it is you usually look for," Martinez responded briskly as the trio reached the medium sized jeep. To his astonishment, Coyote managed to shrug.

"He's never met Ronin. Besides, we have sensors that can pick him up. And we're pretty sure he didn't turn off the IFF tags," Coyote explained as Ronin jumped to the back to allow the lieutenant colonel access to the driver's seat. "If you're certain that no one with the right equipment is looking for you, then why bother, right? And you," Coyote said to Zach bluntly and aggresively, "Get your ass in the Hog. We'll be stopping by the armory to pack up some gear, and then we are looking for your comrade."

The TACPAD on Coyote's left wrist beeped quietly. Coyote looked down at it and smiled beneath his visor. "And now that I have some info on who this guy is, I suppose we should get going. Been a pleasure meeting you captain," Coyote stated matter-of-factly as he put the M12/M APC into gear and drove off to the armory. As the dust cloud settled, Captain Alexander Ricardo Martinez whistled.

"Damn Tom, you're gonna have a helluva time shaking these guys off, that's for sure."

_Digital World_

Tom felt a shiver as he left Rena's home to go out and spar with her. Somebody back home-most likely Captain Martinez-was talking about him. Tom shrugged and ignored it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Contacts

Ft. Hood, Orion II

Coyote drove out of the gates of Fort Hood, Gym running close behind, with a fair amount of joy at the amount of ordinance now in the back of the M12/M APC. Currently, they had a pair of SPANKR multi-role rocket launchers, an M79/D Individual Grenade Launcher, a pair of BR55 HB's, one of which the Spartan held, and a Regent Missile Launcher. They had enough ammunition to satisfy any gun nuts desires, and in Coyote's opinion, Mother was itching to swap the Light Anti-Air Gun with the Regent Missile Launcher sitting in the back and blow the living shit out of something. They also had a case of medical supplies, just in case. Then there was the dreaded crate of MRE's.

Spartan 667 was providing Coyote with directions to where he had seen his fellow Spartan last. The Lieutenant Colonel punched in the coordinates in the GPS and asked Ronin to take over driving. With practiced agility and timing, the human and Voxin switched places from the turret and driver's seat. And Zach had thought he'd seen everything.

And now that Coyote wasn't busy trying not to crash into any trees, he could safely read the files on both 667 and 707. He decided to read Tom's first.

Five minutes later, he was pissed. Not at what Tom did, but at what his _mother_ had done. Sending your own child into a super soldier program, and not asking him if he wanted to join, not to mention warning about the pain of the augmentations, was outright barbarous to the CO. Coyote suddenly didn't even blame Tom for going AWOL. ONI did a poor job of making the Spartan feel at home, and the kid's fellow Spartans did nothing to help; especially the Spartan sitting in the back.

After reading Zach's file, Coyote glanced over at where the GPS was on the Hog's dashboard. The confounded device was saying that in half a klick, they would be at the precise location that Zach had last seen Tom. Coyote turned to face the group in the back.

"Listen up, we'll be coming to our destination in thirty seconds, so buckle up. We're taking the Hog with us," he said as the cave came into view. When everybody saw how small the entrance was in relation to the size of the Warthog, they quickly strapped everything down and started praying in some way or other.

Fortunately for all present, Ronin was either very lucky, very skilled at driving, or some odd combination of both because before they even knew it, the group had reached a small cavern that was in the middle of some Forerunner architecture. Coyote and Ronin got out of the vehicle and with Gym's help, started scanning the area. Granted, Ronin had the more sensitive sensor equipment, but Coyote had the overall knowledge of what they were possibly looking for. In the span of about twenty seconds, Coyote, Ronin, and Gym and triangulated the source of the still strong chronometric particles to a small pedestal in the middle of the room.

The pedestal was fairly small, only about four feet high, and had what appeared to be a key in the middle of it. Scanning it, Coyote noted that it was the podium that gave off the readings, not the key. He looked over at Ronin, who nodded in confirmation. Good. Now the real fun could start. Coyote waved Gym over to the pedestal. The massive robot walked over to where his CO was quietly. The smaller human looked up at Gym's four optical sensors. "Think you can hack into this thing?" he asked, pointing towards the Forerunner artifact. Gym looked at it and stroked what would have been his chin. After about a second or two he nodded. Coyote patted the robot affectionately on the shoulder. "Atta boy Gym," the CO said as he walked over to the Hog. Gym simply placed a massive three fingered hand onto the pedestal and went dead still; which, considering he was a robot, wasn't all that hard to do.

"Ronin, get that Hog as you close as you can to Gym, this rift might not be that big or it only takes in one at a time. Varak, everything strapped down?" Coyote asked/commanded as hopped onto the side of the APC.

The disguised dragon quickly made sure that everything was in fact strapped down tightly to the APC's bed. The medic looked over and nodded. A green light flashed over Gym's icon on Coyote's HUD. Looking over to the robot, Coyote smiled as he saw the beginnings of a rift appear. Said smile disappeared when he realized that the rift only extended out to about four feet away from Gym. "Change of plans Ronin, get us _on_ that thing NOW!" he yelled, jumping off the Hog.

Shoulder to shoulder, Gym was about five feet wide. Add on the length provided by the rift, and you were talking about a rift with a nine foot radius. The average M12/M was about fifteen feet long, and about seven wide. It was going to be a tight fit, that was for sure. Then there was the countdown timer that had appeared on Coyote's HUD that said that there were only twenty seconds left until the rift was formed. After ten seconds, the Hog was in (barely) and Coyote yelled out to all present, "Brace yourselves!"

At zero, everything disappeared, leaving the room as it once was.

_Digital World_

Ronin woke up to the sound of silence. Not the normal silence where there was at least some ambient noise, but complete and total silence. Ronin groaned as he sat up straighter in the Hog's driver seat and looked around. They were in a forest clearing, so Ronin could assume that everyone made it through the rift in one piece. Hearing groans behind him, Ronin turned around in his seat to look at who was waking up. What he saw was slightly comical.

The Spartan had landed with his helmet between where Kat's breasts were on her combat vest. Kat's left leg was currently right beneath the Spartan's groin and her hand very damn close to the grenade launcher. Mother was hanging out of the Hog from the passenger side, and Coyote was shaking his head clear of the last bits on unconsciousness as he climbed out of the turret. Varak had surprisingly been flung out of the Hog and into a nearby tree, his equipment – with the help of gravity – about to give him a rude wake up call. Gym was stumbling around in the center of the clearing, head swaying left to right, hand gripping the head as if the _Warhound_ class assault bot was drunk.

"Sitrep Ronin," said Coyote went around back to check the supplies. Ronin smirked.

"Well sir, we're not dead, so that's a plus any day," he said. "Kat is going to be begging for our half ton friend back there to fuck her, and Varak is going to have one hell of a headache in three, two, and…" Coyote and Ronin watched as the medic fell out of the tree with an earsplitting snap and onto the unforgiving dirt. Said medic then got up, cursing loudly in Draconic.

"I see," Coyote commented as he noted that indeed, everything did make it through. "Now, do you have 707's transponder signal tracked yet?" Ronin whacked the dashboard and shook his head. "Damn, then we're going to have to do this the hard way." That was when they heard Zach groan in confusion.

"Sir, what the hell – _WHAT THE HELL?_" the super-soldier yelled as he jumped off of his impromptu pillow. That woke Kat up, who immediately looked from Zach to her breasts, and then back to Zach grinning evilly. That sent one helluva shiver down Zach's spine.

"I called it sir, I called it," said the sniper calmly as he and his CO watched the Spartan do his best to get away from the sex-crazed girl he had woken up on. The lieutenant colonel looked over at Ronin.

"Sergeant Major, I want a quick recon of the area due west. Varak will take east, I'll have Gym take the south, and I'll cover north," he said, taking his M7S submachine gun from a rack in the Hog. The Voxin tilted his head.

"Firing orders are…?"

"Return fire only if the target has a firearm, and if not, fire at the first sign of aggression. Otherwise, do not engage and do not get seen unless absolutely necessary. Understood?" asked Coyote as he charged the gun in his hands. The fox nodded. "Good. I'll relay the orders back to Gym and Varak and we'll meet here at the Hog in three hours. Good luck, and happy hunting Ronin."

The fox nodded and walked away after he had grabbed his rifle, and soon disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

.\_/.

Ronin was silent as he made his way through the forest. It looked as though the trees were spaced wide enough apart for the Hog to drive through, so moving around wouldn't be an issue. The sniper didn't activate his optic displacement drive, partly due to the long recharge time for the damn thing, and mostly because Ronin was already good at hiding as it was.

He looked over everything with practiced ease, and so far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. This gave the Voxin a chance to think about what had happened in his life so far.

~.~

_Ronin hated being a slave. The sixteen year old Voxin hated being on San Madrid, where most humans were active participants in the slave trade. The slaves: furs kidnapped from Federation space, the Rashkani Empire, Voxin Protectorate, and from the genetic laboratories scattered throughout the Non-Aligned Worlds. Usually, if the fur was taken from one of the first three categories, then the fur in question would be tortured to the point of being mindless, if they were older than the age of two, or simply indoctrinated to the villainy of the slave system._

_Ronin had been lucky in the fact that his previous master had let his mother keep and raise him as he was, with no genetic modifications. However, he was still conditioned to follow the orders of his human "master," whoever that may be in his life. As he grew older, Ronin often wondered what lay beyond the stars, and if he could ever toss of the shackles of slavery. _

_When he turned eight, his master fell on hard times, and in a last ditch effort to keep himself afloat, was forced to sell Ronin and his mother to the highest bidder. His mother was taken by a collector of Voxins, so that she could be used as an experiment; as for Ronin, he was sold to the household of the general of the Planetary Defense Force. From then on, his life was hell. _

_Like today for example. Like any other day, Ronin woke up at six thirty in the morning, on the dot, to make sure that the general's house was in spotless condition. Today was one of the few days that the general, Manuel de Santiago, was actually on one of San Madrid's two moons, making sure that the garrison was prepared for anything. And today, if Ronin was lucky enough to get all of his chores done before dinner – which for him consisted of the shit the common human grunt wouldn't even eat -, then he could sneak one of the antique rifles out of the house and practice in the woods nearby. _

_As it turned out, he wasn't able to finish his duties before dinner. And after going to bed (a pile of rags in a common room full of other, less intelligent slaves), Ronin snuck out and stealthily wandered to the general's private armory. _

_One the best things about Ronin – and also one of the worst – was that Ronin had a very good memory. So that when he came up to the door of the armory, he had no trouble punching in the correct keycode. Once the door opened, he quickly went inside and flicked one of the lights on. Even in the dim light, Ronin could see all the weapons that the general had amassed over his career. Ronin went over to the far wall and picked out one of the rifles, wistfully stroking the expensive wood stock and fore grip of the weapon. _

_It was a Walther WA2000 sniper rifle, made in the mid-20__th__ century and had surprisingly survived the Gene Wars in very good condition. The walnut stock and fore grip had rotted away and had since been replaced with San Madrid's native redwood, which was highly water resistant and tough; the only initial downside was that the wood was heavy, but considering that the rifle had been updated with a pair of magnetic acceleration rails that sent the 7.62 mm NATO round at speeds exceeding Mach 2, the wood served to reduce the recoil by a considerable amount. Ronin quickly grabbed a few of the empty six round magazines, a box of ferromagnetic tungsten rounds, and started filling them up. It only took him about three minutes to fill up all ten mags, and to place the last mag into the butt of the rifle. The young fox made sure that the safety was on and that the gun was charged before he got up to leave. _

"_What are you doing in here, slave?"_

_Ronin's head snapped up to see the fierce form of General Manuel de Santiago. He reflexively snapped the safety off and pulled the trigger,…._

~.~

Ronin's ears perked up at the sound of whimpering. Removing himself from his own memories, the sniper swung his rifle around to find the source of the noise. The whimpering sounded closer now…and if Ronin had to guess, was low to the ground. He glanced down at the ground and saw a small bundle of mostly yellow fur.

"Sir, I have a contact," Ronin said over his COM. The reply came back very quick.

"_Hostile?_" asked the lieutenant colonel. Ronin fought the urge to shake his head.

"Negative sir, what might be a civilian. Nearly walked right onto uh, it."

"_It?_"

"I'm not familiar with whatever species it is sir, I'm sorry," Ronin sighed as he looked at what he had almost stepped on. Whatever it was, it was only about the size of a housecat, and shaped like a beachball if it weren't for the ears, stubby legs, and the tail. Not to mention the greenish-brown eyes that looked at Ronin in terror.

"_We'll rendezvous at your location. Stay put,_" ordered Coyote. Ronin hmphed in response. He then took the time to make sure that no one – or considering the fact that he was still in unknown and presumably enemy territory – or anything surprised him. So the sniper found a log across from where the small…_thing_ was cowering and sat down. Normally, standard operating procedure discouraged the removal of one's helmet in a combat zone, but as Ronin was not in combat, and because whatever it was that was still looking at him didn't seem like a threat, the fox took off his helmet. Plus, after wearing the helmet for who knew how long, the helmet started to annoy his ears.

Five minutes later, the sniper got his first glimpse of his target…albight with the target holding him at gunpoint.

Life had been good for Tom and Rena for the past three weeks, and they were growing fonder of each other by the day, if not the hour. As such, they soon came to know each other quite well, and today, they decided to do something they both enjoyed: training. They had started doing this about a week ago, which about the same time that Tom's leg had finally healed up. Each morning, they would get up and practice their respective fighting techniques with a quick sparring session.

What surprised Rena though was that Tom, due to his augmentations, was able to match blows with her. And that was without her using her powers. Despite his lean build and relatively small size, he packed one hell of a punch when fighting. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable.

It was roughly around noon when the duo decided to call it quits for the day. Rena had gone done to a nearby river to wash up, and Tom packed whatever equipment he decided was necessary for his task: gathering food. He descended the tree, fully clad in his shielded armor, and his rifle slung across his back. Tom also had a large bag used to hold the food on his back, and he had discovered that the soft Tactical Case issued by the UNSC was perfect for storing food as well, so he didn't carry as much ammo as he normally did back _there_. He did, however, charge both his sidearm and his rifle before leaving. While the forest was beautiful, it was still dangerous, the giant spider that Tom had first encountered being proof of that. Thankfully, he and Rena were more than a match for the rogue and wild Digimon that they occasionally ran across. Still, it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Tom set off to find that spot where he and Rena usually found their food. Little did he know that his peaceful life was about to be shattered by some new faces…and an unwelcome and hated face from home.

Rena lay there in the grass by the river, drying off with the sun's help after her dip in the river. She thought of how much her life had changed since Tom had unexpectedly came out of nowhere, and how the last three weeks had changed her as well. Ever since he became her Tamer, Rena had felt a connection with him that simply didn't exist back in her home village. Sure, there had been some handsome tods, most of them from the small group of Renamon in her village that just didn't fit the mold. But Tom made her happy, happier than she had ever been in her life. But she was also feeling something that wasn't just happiness.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "How can one person make me feel this confused?" No sooner had she finished her statement when her eyes snapped open to the sound of crying off in the woods. From the intensity of the sound, whatever it was wasn't far.

"Something's in trouble," she muttered to herself as leapt off the grass and bolted to the source of the sound. Soon she ran into the source of the cries as nearly stepped on it. Rena stopped and looked under the log where the cries came from. There, huddled into a ball, was the terrified form of a Viximon, curled into a ball trying to hide, slightly reddish fur making it look like a brass ball.

Rena knelt down to the cowering baby Digimon. "Sora?" she said, recognizing the Viximon from the village. Sora was one of the odd Renamon in her village, but it was for a good reason. After all, he was descended from Rahne of the Faint Smile. "What are you doing here?" The Viximon looked over his tail at her and stopped whimpering.

"I was with Mama, and then I went exploring, even though Mama told me not to, and then I got lost, and I was going to wait in here for Mama to find when, when…." Sora said sobbing, breaking down at the end. Rena was patient.

"And then what Sora?"

"And then, a big, mean looking Renamon almost stepped on me," Sora whimpered, shaking in fear. Now Rena was confused.

"What big, mean looking Renamon?" she asked. Sora fearfully glanced over her shoulder. Rena spun around, putting Sora behind her protectfully as she saw the supposed Renamon. What she saw was most definitely **not** a Renamon.

Whatever it was, it was sitting on a log watching her, a rifle gently held in its hands. Its snow white fur was so off with the forest it was in, Rena was mentally slapping herself for not seeing it. And the armor looked similar to Tom's, except that the helmet lying on the ground had been modified to fit its head, there was a boxy, fist sized object on its shoulder, and overall, it simply didn't look as advanced as Tom's armor. Rena growled menacingly as her paws sprang up in blue fire.

"I don't know who you are, but going to leave fast if you know what's good for you!" she snarled, daring the stranger to make a stupid move. In reaction, all the stranger did was stand up slowly, leaning the rifle on the log and drawing another gun from its side slowly, finger nowhere near the trigger. The gun was about halfway up when a new voice spoke up, the distinctive sound of an M6D being cocked resounding through the clearing.

Tom had filled the bag to the brim, but instead of heading home, he decided to go to the river and see if Rena was still there. Like the ghost he practically was, Tom moved silently through the woods, making his way to the river. As he got closer to the river, he heard Rena shout out something, and he immediately hauled ass to where her voice came from. As Tom reached the clearing, he saw Rena in her fighting stance, fangs bared in anger. But instead of a rogue Digimon, Rena was facing a being Tom had rarely encountered back in his old life, heart now jumping in Tom's throat.

_A Voxin? How in the Hell…?_ Tom stopped as he saw the muted glint of metal in its left hand: a revolver, and judging by the width of the barrel, it apparently fired one big-ass round. Tom's eyes flashed over to where its helmet and antique rifle lay on a log and made his move.

The Voxin had raised the revolver to chest height, pointing at Rena when Tom quickly got behind him and cocked his M6D. "If you don't drop that gun, I'll blow your fucking brains out all over this clearing," Tom said in a calculated and cold voice. The Voxin froze for second, one ear tilted back to listen to Tom.

[Do you understand me Voxin, drop the damn gun or I will kill you!] yelled Tom in what little Voxin he knew. What he heard as the Voxin lowered the hammer of his revolver surprised him.

"I understood you the first time Spartan, and for the record, I speak perfect English," said the Voxin, raising his gun up to the sky. "I'm just here looking for you."

Tom snatched the pistol, emptied it of ammunition, and tossed it aside. "Looking for me? Why, who the hell are you?" Tom asked in cold fury. Rena looked back and forth between Tom and the Voxin.

"Tom, what is going on?" she asked, not sure of what the hell was happening. Tom ignored her and focused on the Voxin as he – as evidenced by his slightly deep voice – answered Tom.

"I am Sergeant Major Nathaniel J. Ronin, service number 44563-89321-NR, First Dimensional RIFT Reconnaissance Battalion, Second Company, Delta Squad," said the Voxin in a very faint Spanish accent. "And you are Sierra 707, or Thomas Joshua Walls, best sniper-scout in Beta Company. Don't know who she is though." Ronin nodded his head in Rena's direction.

Tom's heart almost skipped a beat. "_She_," Tom said harshly, "Is my friend. Now what the fuck do you people want with me? What are your orders?"

If Ronin was surprised at Tom's odd choice of friends, he didn't show it. "Simple," he answered. "ONI called my CO, my CO was assigned to us, and we followed the trail here. Didn't think we'd find you this fast though." Ronin shrugged nonchalantly.

Tom's heart sank to his stomach. "I'm not going anywhere with you wackos, especially not to that hellhole!" Tom shouted out in anger. Suddenly, something hit him in the side, knocking him into a nearby tree, nearly snapping it half in the process. A dark, menacing voice spoke from outside of Tom's vision. But Tom didn't need to see Zack to know his voice.

"Well that's too bad Tommy-boy. I guess if you're not going to cooperate, I am authorized to use lethal force on YOU!" Zack said as her stood over Tom and grabbed him by the throat, his Mark Ten MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor- Charlie granted him inhuman strength.

Tom couldn't get away. All he was wearing was the latest ODST battle armor, and that didn't even compare with the MJOLNIR armor Zack was wearing. "POWER PAW!" Rena punched the black armored Spartan IV in his side, her flaming paw crushing his overshield and sending him back a step or two. Zack also let go of Tom, and in an instant, Rena had grabbed Tom, dashed over to Sora, and teleported out of the area, towards their hidden home.

"The fuck are you doing Spartan, we have orders to keep him alive if possible!" Ronin yelled, quickly bringing his rifle to bear on the armored soldier beside him, glaring darkly at him. Zack walked towards the Voxin slowly.

"Put the gun away, fox, you'll just hurt yourself," said Zack. "He was prepared to kill you, you can't feel sympathy with a WEASAL LIKE HIM! LET YOUR GUARD DOWN AND HE WOULDV'E SLIT YOUR THROAT! THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO K-Omff!" Zack grunted in pain as something hit him in the side, sending him flying back into a tree. "What the –" Zack stuttered, as he lifted himself off the ground.

Ronin smirked as he lowered his hand. "Grav Spike. Hits harder than a Gravity Hammer, and I'm only going to say this once: Stand. DOWN. Or else you will face disciplinary action," Ronin explained calmly. He noticed out the corner of his eye Gym silently creeping up behind Zack. Ronin twitched his ear once.

"As you wish sir, and tell your robot not to do that, otherwise it'll be scrap metal," Zach said as he started to walk away to the edge of the clearing, watching as the rest of the group came up in the Warthog. "With all the fruits he was carrying, that bastard's camp shouldn't be that far away," Zack stated, his smug, sadistic grin visible in his words. Ronin replied by arming the mag-rails on his rifle. Zack grunted and went to the Hog, Gym following him closely.

Ronin turned to face the woods. "Well Tom, you may not know it, but the Renamon isn't the only kindred here on this world," the Voxin said softly, rifle's safety on. He then went to the Hog to report just what had happened with his CO.

Meanwhile…

Rena reappeared inside her home, Sora and Tom in tow. Setting the Viximon down, she turned to look at Tom, who was busy grabbing anything that would be useful for him. That translated to food, weapons, and the ammunition. Oh, and maps of the area. "Tom, why do they want you so bad, can't they just leave you alone?" Rena asked softly, a tear starting to form in one of her eyes. Tom shrugged.

"Rena, if I'd known they were going to try this hard, I would have asked that you stay away from me, or at least let me die. But now, they're going to looking for both of us, and the worst part is that monster is with them," Tom replied, stuffing the last of his rifle's ammo in his soft case. He then turned to look at Sora. "And we need to find your mother little one." Rena picked Sora back up gently.

"There's a village not far from here, I used to go there on occasion before I met you. And fortunately, I do know his mother. So, when do you want to leave?" Rena asked as Tom placed several odd lumps of material around the hut. Tom came back to her hurriedly.

"Now would be a good time, those charges will be going off in sixty seconds," Tom said. The three left the hut, and Tom grimly smiled to himself. _This should give them the message,_ he thought as he disappeared into the woods.

The small squad of DRifters were looking at Zack with equal looks of shock, horror, and in two cases, hatred when Tom's charges blew. All turned to look at multiple pieces of wood flying into the air, a fairly good sized cloud of smoke marking where Rena's home had been. Mother instantly went into demolition engineer analysis mode. "Sir, I'm looking at about a quarter pound of C-8 explosive wired to eliminate evidence. Sloppy," she stated, shaking her head in dissatisfaction. Coyote looked at her oddly. "I would have used incendiary," she clarified. Coyote nodded.

That was when they realized that the Spartan was missing. "Shit, now we have to not only retrieve _two_ Spartans, we have to make sure that they don't kill each other!" Coyote said sharply, banging a fist on the hood of the Hog. It was then that he noticed a cluster of thin smoke columns _not_ from the fire. "But when there's smoke, there's fire, and fire means people," he muttered. "Everyone, in the Hog. Ronin, untie Kat and give her the other BR85. Let's pray she knows how to aim. Otherwise, let's meet the locals." Everyone, sans Gym, clambered onto the APC and drove off to where there was hopefully a village.

Tom and Rena stopped near the edge of the village. As far as it went in modern standards, the place was small, only about five hundred individuals. But here, the place was huge. Granted, most of the buildings were made of wood or stone, and they all flanked a central avenue, but other than that, it was a marvel to Tom's eyes. "Come on Tom, we should get inside before they find us again," Rena said. Tom nodded and they walked inside. Sora found his mother, Aria Stormborn, worried sick for his safety. After gently scolding the Viximon, Aria invited the two oddball strangers into her home for a bite to eat.

Tom was hesitant. He knew that Zach was essentially a relentless predator, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let those Dimensional RIFT whatevers take him back to ONI. But Rena had sweet talked him into staying. He was surprised at the interior of the Renamon's home. While sparse, it certainly had the same charm as Rena's former home. Although Tom noticed something different about the Renamon that served as his host. Rena had described her species as yellow furred, with the purple (or blue in Rena's case) gloves having a single yin-yang symbol. Their host had reddish gold fur, and there was a waved, four-pointed starburst surrounding the yin-yang. Tom asked Rena what the symbol on the glove meant.

"Oh," Rena said in slight astonishment. "Well, you see, Aria and Sora are descended from Rahne of the Faint Smile, possibly one of the strongest Renamon in our species history. Well, with the exception of THE Renamon," she added sheepishly. Tom raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"And that relates to now, how?"

"Well, the Sun-burst Clan have redder fur, random eye colors, occasionally different powers than other Renamon, and drastically shortened life spans. They do, however, make good diplomats."

"So is that why our host went outside to greet some visitors?"

The squad of Drifters soon drove up to the gates of the village. Coyote parked the APC about ten meters away and got out with Ronin. He watched as a Taomon, a pair of Kyuubimon, and a reddish-orange Renamon walked toward them.

_Snik-CRACK!_

Ronin looked to see that Coyote's normally impassable carbon black visor had literally cracked itself into a look of shock. "Sir, are you okay?" Ronin asked.

"No," came the unusually meek reply from Coyote. Ronin looked to see what it was that had pretty much scared his CO so much. All he saw was the Renamon, apparently female based on the curves, whose gloves had a wavy, four-pointed starburst surrounding the classic yin-yang. Ronin looked at his CO in confusion.

"Ronin, remember that time you found me in Shinjuku drunk off my ass?" Coyote asked. Ronin was surprised that Coyote would be bringing _that_ up.

"Yes sir, but why is this important?" Ronin answered. Coyote looked nervously back at the sniper.

"Because I'm pretty sure that Rahne is going to rip off my balls and strangle me with them," came the final reply before the Taomon reached the two. The ancient and powerful Digimon looked at the two insignia and bowed to Coyote.

"I am Taomon Firefist, leader of this village. For what do I owe the pleasure of meeting three humans, a pointy-eared bastard (Varak's face fell in shock and anger), a robot, and a bastardized Renamon?" the Taomon asked as he stood back up. Coyote swallowed his fear as best he could and spoke. He just didn't speak to the Taomon.

"Rahne, is that you?" he asked the Renamon, free hand covering his family jewels. The Renamon looked at Coyote as if he was insane, ruby red eyes burrowing into the (formerly) solid black visor.

"I am not my ancestor," she said hesitantly, voice declaring she wasn't sure of Coyote's sanity. Everyone, including those on the Hog, could hear Coyote's sigh of relief. "But we do have a shrine dedicated to her if you want to see it," she added happily. Coyote nearly fainted. He could actually meet HER. After nearly four years of not seeing her, he would finally get to see her. But then the plan changed as a rift formed, the unsteady red glow radiating menace. Every DRifter went on high alert.

"Toshigan!" yelled Coyote in a barely controlled panic, his arm cannon now active. "Ronin, HVT's! SINs and Chronos first! Mother, Wavebreakers and HEAP rounds! Gym, just rip them apart! Varak, stay back and give us support and Kat don't do anything-"

Tom and Rena were sitting in the main room of Sora's home, making small talk with Sora's father and uncle on his father's side (well, Rena was; Tom still had trust issues). Sora was fast asleep however. "So," Sora's father said, "You are a child of the Radiant One as well?" He pointed to the crest at the top of Rena's gauntlets. "Why are you so far from home?" Rena looked up from her small meal in worry.

"Well, umm, it's kind of a long story…" said Rena as she started to fidget in nervousness. She didn't want to go back to her home village, she didn't want to be given a mate against her will! Almost as if he was psychic, Tom interrupted before the older male Digimon could ask for more information.

"It's because of me," he said, holding out his Digivice. The two male Renamon were awestruck, and Rena beamed with pride. "I'm her Tamer." The two males looked from the Digivice to Rena, and then back to Tom.

"So, you're a human? That explains why I haven't seen a Digimon like you before," proclaimed Sora's father, a hearty chuckle leaving his muzzle. Suddenly, there came a massive explosion from outside, followed by the sound of gunfire, energy weapons, and even a few more explosions. Tom's Spartan training kicked in when he whipped out his pistol. Putting his helmet on one handed, he motioned for the Renamon to stay down, Sora's father now pretty much on top of his kit, protecting him.

As Tom and Rena went out the front door and onto the street, they saw the carnage that the fighting had down. Houses were blown to bits, the street was full of holes, and carts used to move goods had been left forgotten. The duo hid behind on, all too aware of how flimsy their cover was. Tom looked over the side to see who was fighting. He was surprised to see the Voxin from earlier on the wall of the village, firing his rifle rapidly, the ghostly blue trail of the bullets denoting its status as a railgun. Then there was a Sangheili sized robot clashing with an even bigger robot, and the – creatures that they were fighting were nothing that Tom was familiar with. They looked like Terra's big cats, if they were bipeds, with all of the trappings of the Jiralhanae and the temperament and arms to match. And off to the side, Tom saw an M12/M Armed Personnel Carrier.

Tom turned to face Rena and pointed to the wall. She nodded and teleported next to the wall, right under Ronin. The Voxin was too busy sniping targets and despite being in such an exposed position, was somehow not getting wounded. Tom sprinted to the open gate and crouched low. Seeing an opening for him to get to the Hog, he full out ran to it, noting that there was also a Mongoose hitched to the back of it. Tom got there, sneaking behind some crazy chick firing an M82 Regent Missile Launcher, firing missile after missile at some other target. He unhitched the ATV, and snapped off the standard issue UNSC IFF tag from the undercarriage. Next thing that anybody knew, Tom had hopped on, hit the ignition and punched the throttle wide open. He happily splattered some of the alien tangos of the way to Rena, shooting one would-be jacker with his M6D. Rena saw him coming and without him stopping, leapt onto the back of the ATV. They soon sped off to the back gate, and Tom rapidly shot a hole through it and burst through the gate, leaving the fight.

Kat's mind was oddly enough, blank as she shot her way to the Chronolegionnaire in front of her. Well, not entirely empty. The private's mind was filled with the memories of a burning home. She saw her lost family, the vile smirk as the then Slaughtermaster slowly skinned her friends alive, and the hideous scar stretching from his forehead, across one eye, and down to his jaw as she sliced the monster's face open with the metal spork that Kat still had. In real-time, she slowed down the Chronolegionnaire with her TMD and continued blasting away at it with the BR85 HB 9.55mm rifle from the Hog.

Coyote and the others, meanwhile, were fending off Toshigan grunts, and in a brilliant stroke of Murphy's Law, they were also having to fight a "Pride" class Synthetic Intelligence uNit that had recently joined the fight. The only good news was that the SIN was already badly damaged. But the damn things shields were still holding strong, and it was ALWAYS the damaged SINs that were the most dangerous. Kat had disobeyed Coyote' direct order to fight the Chronolegionnaire alone, but she didn't listen. A Wavebreaker round at that moment slammed into the Pride, draining its shields. This gave Gym to chance to thrust his hands into its chest, and ripped the super weapon apart, coolent and plasma spewing out from the destroyed machine's synthetic muscles and armature.

Kat meanwhile had managed to get in the Chronolegionnaire's blind spot,which just so happened to be the armor itself. She clung on for dear life as she single handedly primed a HE frag grenade and shoved it under the sensory head's "chin." Kat leapt off as the bomb detonated, sending the elite mechanized infantry unit down to the ground with a thunderous thud. Kat quickly got back on her feet and sprinted back to the useless shell of armor, and with strength that would make a Spartan notice, ripped open the chest hatch for the pilot and looked down at her tormenter.

The being that lay wounded below her was about the size of a juvenile Sangheili, give or take a few inches. He was clad in sparse armor, the undersuit ripped from both the grenade detonating and from the burns of the armor short-circuiting. It was fairly terrifying, with spikes jutting out from the elbows, knees, and fore-arm, and the helmet was to induce a panic with its demonic semblance. Kat at the moment wasn't affected, as she was in a cold rage at the Toshigan below her. She slammed the butt of the battle rifle down on his face, and continued to slam her gun into him again and again until Gym got up behind her and gave her a bear hug. Not enough to crush her, but enough to restrain the thrashing female. Kat didn't hear Coyote bark at her furiously, telling her that the Toshigan in the battle suit was their only lead on how they found them, and that thanks to her, he was almost dead. But right now, Private Katherine Alexandra Desserich didn't care. Killing the monster that destroyed her life would have been a mercy kill. Not after what happened three years ago.

Coyote sat in the Taomon's hut, deep in thought. During the brief, but highly intense firefight, the Mongoose that they had taken had been stolen – most likely by Tom, - several of the villagers were wounded, with most of the structures near the south wall in various states of destruction. The second worst thing that Coyote would have to deal with was Pvt. Katherine Desserich's punishment for disobeying a direct order, needlessly putting her squad-mates lives in danger, and endangerment of civilian bystanders. The worst thing that had happened was that the Viximon Ronin nearly stepped on was not going to lose not only his father and uncle, but also his mother as well. As it turned out, Aria Stormborn was one of the first casualties, having been in proximity to a detonating Toshigan warhead meant for Gym.

"So," Firefist said gravely, "What are you here for?" The Taomon looked down at the human in front of him, the Digimon's face not displaying the fear that was eating away at him. Coyote looked up and sighed. The close to thirty year old human ran a gloved hand through his dark brown and blonde highlighted hair in frustration.

"I belong to a group of fighters whose job is to make sure that different universes and their variations don't interfere with each other, and that if they do, that the interference is for the better," Coyote started to explain. "We sometimes take assignments from other agencies, usually to better strengthen our ties with that group. In this case, we were tasked with finding a missing soldier."

Coyote paused to catch his breathe. "What we just fought…those are the guys who would like nothing more than to tear apart the multiverse, and exploit it, enslave it, and otherwise bring it to ruin. I can't reveal much due to it being classified above my pay grade (which actually wasn't completely true; Coyote's prime version frequently published the forces exploits, which Coyote then read), but I'll answer any question you have to the best of my ability." Firefist nodded.

"Very well," said the Ultimate Level Digimon. "I have a rather interesting question. How do you know our Rahne of the Faint Smile?" The Taomon watched as Coyote's face drained of color, a look of despair on his face. Coyote then promptly gulped as he tried to explain.

"Well you see, I, ah, um…" Coyote stammered as Ronin walked in through the front door, a datapad in hand.

"What the lieutenant colonel means to say is that one day, he got transformed into a Renamon, was dumped into another universe, yours apparently, and had a brief fling with another Renamon. I was asked to get his drunk ass out of Shinjuku," said the Voxin bluntly as he handed Coyote the datapad and saluted. "The final report on the firefight sir," Ronin said flatly. Coyote returned the salute. Firefist was shocked.

"Wait," said the elderly Digimon. "You had sex with our FOUNDER? But ho-"

"Sir," Coyote interrupted, "that was well before she founded a village, I assure you. On another note, I and my team would like to stay and help with the clean-up. And …I owe the Viximon a pair of open arms. He did just lose his family." Coyote turned off the datapad and hooked onto his hip and picked up his ruined helmet. Firefist was confused.

"What do you mean, his family? It was only Sora's father that died," said Firefist. Coyote sadly shook his head.

"You don't understand, the Toshigan use a combination of electromagnetic pulse and biological toxins in their latest warheads. Miss Stormborn had severe data corruption, and what biological systems she did have died at an accelerated rate." Coyote stopped to wipe a tear from his eye. "I…I am afraid that Sora Duskborn is now an orphan, and I would like to take him under my wing so to speak with your permission."

Ronin lowered his head and turned away from the two. In the two wars and countless skirmishes against the Toshigan, there was no such thing as a minor casualty.

Tom and Rena had stopped when it got dark, not because it was safer, but because the Mongoose ran out of gas. Tom made sure that he didn't leave any tracks, and hid the ATV in a bush. Tom shook his head in annoyance. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that there was about ten bucks worth of gas in the vehicle.

Tom sat near a tree across from Rena, cleaning and inspecting his rifle in thought. He had seen the devastation the battle had left on the village when he looked through the scope a few hours ago, and now, Tom was angry; and guilty. "Dammit, those people are dead for no reason, and whatever group that Voxin belonged to brought those other things here because of me," he said quietly, his voice now releasing his pent up rage. He slammed his fist into the tree, breaking chunks of it off and startling Rena. "I'm the reason they're dead!" Tom took his fist and of the tree and hung his head, a bleak aura of depression coming from him.

Rena looked at her friend with soft eyes. Scooting closer to him, she put her paws around his neck and hugged him. "Listen Tom," Rena said softly, "It wasn't you that killed those people, those soldiers brought those things here, not you."

"But Rena, they're here for me, they brought Zack here, and they put this world at risk." Tom looked up into Rena's soft emerald eyes. "They put you at risk. Now, we're on the run, and I'm sorry. This is my fault, I'm the reason that you're in danger." At this point Tom's eyes were glistening with tears.

"Tom, it's not your fault; I'm in this with you all the way, I'm your partner after all. I don't blame you for this, I blame them," Rena stated, pointing towards the village. "Tom, you are one of the best things that have ever happened in my life, and I am glad beyond words that I found you."

Rena pulled Tom even closer to her. "Tom," Rena whispered, "The truth is, I'd rather be here on the run with you than never met you at all. And _NO_ one taking you away from me without a fight." Rena really wanted to say what was on her mind: how she had begun to see Tom as something other than a friend, but sadly, she couldn't find the find the courage to do so.

Tom pushed her back and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I swear Rena, I swear on my soul that I won't let anything happen to you." _Not like Devin._ Eventually, the two of them fell asleep by the tree, comforted by the moon's soft embrace.

Coyote walked over to the shrine with Taomon Firefist, Ronin, and the rest of the village to pay their respects for the fallen. Sora was in Kat's arms, his muzzle locked in grief. Kat was tearing herself apart on the inside. She knew, she just instinctively knew, that the Chronolegionnaire had targeted Gym. In her fury to kill it, she had diverted its attention, sending the warhead meant for Gym straight over to where Sora's mother had been.

As the Drifters came upon the shrine, Coyote suddenly felt a bout of nostalgia. It was at a shrine to the Japanese rice god Inari that he had professed his love for Rahne. And like that isolated shrine, this one was still beautiful. But Coyote couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong here. He looked over at Ronin. The Voxin sniper/scout nodded. He felt it as well then. Coyote turned his head towards Firefist and quietly said, "Taomon Firefist, can we run some tests before the ceremony? My men and I feel as though something is wrong here." The Taomon nodded absent-mindedly.

Coyote waved for Ronin to scan the area. The Voxin did so, and raised an eye in slight surprise. "Sir, we have a chronometric distortion surrounding the entire shrine. Looks like a three stage trap, weak slow first layer, Varak can take care of it. Second stage is a nearly busted bubble shield, I think that Mother will love taking it out, and the last shell is a class three slow field. That requires something with a little more kick, sir," Ronin said he looked up from his wrist mounted data pad. Coyote smiled.

"Alright, everyone, you know what to do. Varak, you're first," Coyote said. The transformed dragon nodded as he stepped up to the shrine. Coyote wasn't exactly a linguist, but even he knew that the words being spoken by Varak contained power. Lots of it. Twelve seconds later, the first layer of the trap was dissolved in a soft orange glow, the villagers who were able to see transfixed in awe. Seconds later, the high explosive grenade thrown by Mother hit the bubble shield and destroyed it, allowing both Coyote and Ronin to strike the final layer with their TMD's Flash Forward ability. The final shell was demolished in a flash of intense orange light, and there came the sound of a body hitting the wall inside the shrine.

Coyote turned on the beam cannon, the device whining low as it powered up. Coyote set it for its Wave Beam function, knowing that killing was the last thing needed at the moment. Varak and Mother were behind him as Coyote slowly unbarred the door. Setting down the board, Coyote waved Ronin to the other side of the double doors, so that they could clear the inside of the building easier. Coyote tapped his foot in count down. _Three. Two. One._

Ronin and Coyote opened the doors and charged in, weapons sweeping the interior for threats. Seeing none, the two whistled for the others to join. Gym stayed outside while Varak and Mother went inside. Coyote went in further, and after turning a corner, almost tripped flat on his face. Regaining his balance, the lieutenant colonel looked down at what had almost tripped him and froze.

Renamon, young, somewhere just a tad bit north of twenty. She was about six foot three, with golden red fur and gloves the purple seen at sunset. Coyote gulped as he _knew_ this Renamon rather intimately. The ring hanging on a chain resting just above below her collarbone and the fact that Coyote remembered making those gloves himself was proof enough. This was her. Rahne. The vixen who stole his heart in Shinjuku, and the woman whom he had left abruptly for the call of duty and guilt. She was one of his few regrets.

So amongst Varak's confusing medical jargon, Lieutenant Colonel Gabe Monnot, service number 72119-94001-GM, commander of a well decorated company and veteran of over ten brutal campaigns, fainted. It wasn't even twelve hours into the mission, and the sun was just setting.


	4. Chapter 4

Never Leave a Fallen Comrade

_Digital World_

Rena woke up to the sight of Tom sitting by a tree, his rifle in hand and in the process of being cleaned. Rena had once asked Tom as to why he did this about a week after he came into her life, and Tom patiently explained to the confused Renamon as best as he could. The ex-Spartan V said that if he didn't clean his weapon, he would not just be dishonoring his own creed, he was also putting his life in danger of misfires and jams, which were often fatal to snipers. The Spartan had his helmet on at the moment, so Rena couldn't see his face; his body language, on the other hand, was a different story. The young man was tense, and ready to shoot _something_. Rena stood up and stretched a bit before making her way over to her Tamer. "Good morning Tom," Rena said cheerfully, voice still somewhat sleepy. Tom nodded at her as he reassembled his rifle. "Are we taking that contraption again?" she asked, pointing at the Mongoose.

Tom shook his head as he got up and made his way towards the ATV. "No, reason being it's out of fuel," he said as he lightly hit the things engine. He grabbed the battle rifle that was in one of the bags started pulling out clips of 9.5mm ammunition and put them in his rucksack. Tom noted with sadistic glee that someone had left a box containing a hundred rounds of SAP rounds (Stun, Anti-Personnel) in 7.62mm. They worked similar to the ancient Tasers of 21st century Terra, and Tom knew from firsthand experience how effective they were. An upside with these rounds was that when they hit any type of powered armor, they had a very high tendency to scramble electronic systems. "Might come in handy," he muttered as he shoved the box in his pack. Tom looked at Rena. "Ready to go?" She nodded, and the two of them walked off to the east.

Meanwhile, Zachary-667 was watching over the Renamon village, looking for anything that he could use against the DRifters. "Fuck, the damn bastards attacked too damn early," he muttered darkly. "Oh well, at least I know which way that worm went." He looked over towards his companion. Where the Toshigan were easy to manipulate, the Reavers were about as stubborn as a Spartan II, but much more evil. Standing nearly a foot taller than Zach, the Reaver commander literally looked down at the Spartan V with blood red eyes.

"Shall we attack the village while they are weak?" asked the Reaver. "Take out these…DRifters by surprise?" Zach took a final look at the village.

"No, as much as I would like to destroy anything that would get in the way of my employer's goal, we'll leave them be for now. 707 takes priority right now. Perhaps on the way back we can slaughter them," Zach said casually. The Reaver next to him nodded.

"Then we should move on sir. I have a pair of scouts tracking the Spartan right now as we speak." Zack nodded as he turned and walked away from the village, his dark alliance in the shadows for now.

Coyote sat down beside his one-time mate and friend, thoughts rapidly swirling through his head. Gym had pulled a data recovery on the Pride, and after Varak had "talked" with the surviving Chronolegionnaire, Coyote had learned that there was a mole in the Fort Bragg battalion headquarters. So he called in a strategic lockdown of all .R sites; nothing was going through the multiverse for a while. And that equated to no support or reinforcements for a long time. Therefore, Delta was on their own.

Rahne stirred gently, moaning in her sleep. Varak had told Coyote (not that Coyote needed a reminder-all .R recruits had to go through it) that due to the amount of time spent in the temporal displacement mine, Rahne would be sleeping a lot. After she woke up, several things could happen. One, she'd turn into a vegetable. Two, she would go insane due to culture shock. Three, because she had been in the same spot in time for eight hundred and forty-nine years, two months, and a day, Rahne might kill herself. Or Rahne would quickly regain normal cognitive function and proceed to kick Coyote's ass, followed up by her ripping off his jewels through his ear canal. Coyote was praying for the last option. Well, minus the ripping off of his balls.

Rahne slowly opened her eyes, tail twitching. The last thing she remembered was being in a soundless explosion, and then darkness. The female Renamon saw a human male sitting close to her; he seemed to be in his early to mid-twenties, and looking at her with concern and…regret possibly? "How are you feeling?" he asked, handing Rahne a cup of water.

The Digital Vixen frowned. "I feel like I run over by a Locomon," Rahne said hoarsely, downing the cool, sweet water in one gulp. The human snorted in grim humor.

"Trust me Rahne, you don't want to be run over by anything close to that size category," he said in reply as he handed her a bucket of cold water. As Rahne guzzled down the life-saving liquid, the human looked at her chest. "I'm honestly surprised that you're still wearing it," he commented as he pointed at Rahne's neckline. Rahne stopped drinking for a moment to instinctively clutch and look at what was on her neck.

It was a ring, almost an inch wide and not made for a Renamon's finger. On one side was a collection of handheld games systems, the other a pair of c's crossed with an arrow. There was a red stone on top of the gold and silver ring, and other than the name "Gabriel" and "2012," there wasn't anything all that special about it. Except that it came from Rahne's former lover and mate, back in Shinjuku. Rahne looked at the human, and really looked at him. Now that she was thinking more clearly, she could see some mannerisms that the human and Gabe shared in common. The left corner of his mouth pulled up when he smiled (or smirked in not-so-hidden laughter), the standing on one foot, the crossed arms, those wild, hazel eyes, and the five inch charm with the golden fox on the – wait a minute! Rahne launched herself off the bed and onto the human, sending him crashing to the floor. He didn't move as she sniffed him, her fears rapidly becoming reality. Rahne sat up and shakily asked, "G-Gabe? Is that you?"

Coyote nodded sadly. "I'm sorry," he said as he pulled himself up from under the vixen. Gabe then proceeded to gently hug her. "I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I left you alone in Shinjuku. Do whatever you want to me, but know that I'm not letting you go anytime soon, or later." Coyote stroked the fur between Rahne's shoulder blades. This calmed the now crying vixen as the two sat there, the silence the only thing they needed to say.

Ronin was not a heavy sleeper. Sure, if he had the chance, he would sleep for eight hours, but on the field, the amount of sleep the Voxin got each night was more around three. Today was no exception. The sniper-scout rose before the sun did, and started his daily ritual.

First, he checked his equipment. He disassembled and then reassembled his weapons, cleaned them, and made sure that they were working properly. Next came the camera, optic displacement drive, and stealth detection pack. All were in working order. Then came personal hygiene, which right now only consisted of brushing his teeth.

Lastly, after he got all his gear on, Ronin prayed. He didn't pray to any particular deity, and to be honest, Ronin wasn't really that religious anyway. All Ronin did was say the same prayer he said every day for the last eight years. "Grant me the strength to change what I can, courage to accept what I cannot, and wisdom to know the difference. And for the day I find her. Amen." Ronin bowed his head in respectful silence and got up. Charging his Walther WA2000, Ronin walked off to the village wall to patrol it and make sure there weren't any hostiles inbound. And to receive a better signal from the tracker that Ronin had shoved into the Mongoose's engine when no one was looking.

Ronin scaled the wall and started walking. He scanned the treeline for hostiles, stealth detection pack set on high, and so far the tracker hadn't gone….

BEEP. BEEP.

…Off. Ronin checked the direction of the tracker. West. Ronin smiled on the inside. Now he could started his real job and maybe talk a little sense into the Spartan. After all, unlike the Jedi in Star Wars, Ronin was fan of peaceful negotiations. He just happened to carry an absurdly high powered rifle. Ronin set his camera down on the wall, set it to AUTO and WRLS, and went to find his CO.

Coyote was in the process of telling Rahne what was going on when Ronin walked in. "Sir, I would like permission to go on solo recon, SIR!" he barked, a salute high in the air. Coyote rolled his eyes and looked at the sniper.

"At ease Nate. What's this 'solo recon' you're planning on?" he asked, holding Rahne even closer to him, and returning the salute. Ronin lowered his arm and visibly relaxed.

"Sir, while we were heading to the village, I shoved a tracking beacon inside the Mongoose's engine, just in case someone got lost or had stolen. A few minutes ago, I was on the wall when I got a signal heading to the west. I believe that I can get over there and provide overwatch for Tom and the Renamon accompanying him," Ronin explained calmly, hands blindly toying with an almost solved Rubik's Cube. Coyote looked at Ronin first in astonishment, then burst out in a rare scene of total amusement and laughter.

"Okay, I can authorize that, but what makes you think you can reach them?" asked Coyote after he stopped laughing. Ronin smiled. Not a smirk, not a flash of teeth, but an actual smile.

"Easy sir, I only put about ten bucks of gas if it was going fifty miles an hour. Seeing as it only gets about fifteen miles to the gallon, yeah I can reach them on a fast march."

Coyote smiled. "Very well then. Prep for LR patrol and recon, and wait for us to link up with you when you reach the target. Considering current circumstances, and by that I mean ONI not telling us that Zack is a mental case and the current Toshigan problem, mission orders are to protect and provide support for Sierra-707 as best you can. Dismissed," Coyote ordered, the Renamon next to him demanding his attention in a rather mildly surprising manner. Ronin nodded and walked out the door.

_Three Hours of Fast-marching Later_

Ronin found the Mongoose right where Tom left it. He looked around to visually make sure that he wasn't being followed; he also checked his motion tracker and stealth detection pack. Satisfied, he looked for the standard issue bootprints of an ODST, saw where it went, and followed it. After he turned on his optic displacement drive, of course. Soon, the Mongoose was alone again.

After a few hours of hiking Rena and Tom needed a break. So, the two of them stopped in a shaded area of the forest. Tom looked over at Rena. "Any idea on where to go from here Rena?" he asked.

Rena sat back for a minute. "Ya know," she answered, "I do know a friend we can stay with. His name is Darkamon, he's a retired general of the Kitsune Valley Army, he's been a friend of the family for years he's basically my uncle but..." She looked down with a scared expression. "But it will take us just outside of Kitsune Valley and I'm worried that if my father found me here, he will make me come back home to mate with that creepy Shadowmon...but I don't see much choice we have..."

Tom put an arm around her. "Listen, if you think I'm going to let some smug ass Renamon take my friend away from me, you got another thing coming. Rena, I got your back, don't worry." He hugged her close as he thought to himself. _I love you too much to ever see you unhappy like that, I'll die before they take you away from me, that I can promise you._

Rena sat there for a minute until Tom took off the set of metal charms that he wore around his neck at all times; dog tags, he called them. Tom then put them over Rena's head. She gave him an odd, quizical look. "Tom, why did you that these off?"

Tom looked up into her emerald eyes with a soft look. "Because this way you will always have a piece of me with you no matter what happens."

Rena was speechless; she just hugged him closer to her. "Nothing is going to happen to us Tom, nothing, I promise," she said softly. Rena turned the metal tags over in her paws, running her fingers over his name embossed into the tags. _Thomas J. Walls...I will never let anything happen to you as long as I am alive._

Tom was worried. He had been covering his tracks miles back, but Rena didn't know how to evade a tracker in case Zack or the DRifters were following them. So Tom kept on alert as the two of them moved to a new location to spend the night.

That night, Rena and Tom found a place to stop and make camp. Rena had fallen asleep already, but he was too wired to fall asleep. He was worried about the possibility of the DRifters following Rena's tracks. Tom gripped his rifle tight as he sat next to where Rena was sleeping.

Tom had pulled out his sleeping bag open and draped it over her to keep her warm during the night time chill. "You don't deserve any of this," he said in a soft, low voice. He took out a small carving he had been working on for a while. It was a wooden fox totem, with Rena's family crest carved into the forehead. Taking out his hidden boot knife, Tom began to work on it a bit more as the night wore on. About two, three hours later, Tom heard a flashbang go off. Stowing his carving and knife in record time, Tom grabbed his rifle and sprinted off to where he saw the flash, about a quarter mile away, ignoring Rena's confused look as he went off to take care of whatever problem there was.

_Half a mile away and ten minutes ago..._

Ronin continued to make his way through the cover of night, watching his step as to make sure that he didn't make much noise. It was on nights like these that Ronin would often think of the night that changed his life.

:\_/:

_General de Santiago stared at Ronin in disbelief. After all, not many expect a slave to shoot-even if it was an accident- their master with a railgun. The only reason that Ronin snapped out of his stupor was that soon, the alarms went off. Ronin forgot that the bastard had a dead-man switch on him. So now, Ronin ran. _

_Pausing only to take the general's revolver and some of its ammunition, Ronin darted out of the building, making sure that the guards didn't see him. He knew that he'd at least be better protected in the woods than in the open. Not to metion that Ronin couldn't stroll into the streets of New Barcelona. Therefore, the young Voxin sent his overly white tail into the woods. _

_He was spotted, that much Ronin knew. So it came as no surprise that he heard guards shouting out after him, lights waving about through the murk of the San Madrid night. Ronin did his best to dodge and weave, and after two hours of evading his pursuers, Ronin came across an empty cave. Thankfully, Ronin knew that this cave-really just a rocky overhang-was a good place to spend the night, and that there was a sharpened rock waiting for him. The rock was for taking out the tracking beacon implanted under his skin. Ronin picked it up and breathed heavily. This was going to hurt. A lot._

_Ronin felt under his fur for the implant and found it. There, on his neck, just in line with the top of his jaw. Ronin reached behind himself, rock in hand, and mentally prepared himself for the pain. Without waiting for his courage to fail, Ronin made the incision. _

_The pain was agonizing, but Ronin did his best to ignore the pain. He slipped the rock under his skin and stabbed at the implant. It was only about the size of a nickel, but the Voxin unerringly found it and slipped an edge under the tracker's seal. Ronin grunted in pain as he sliced into the implant. He heard-and felt-it break, and Ronin quickly withdrew the rock from his impromptu surgery. But now came the hard part; getting the implant out. The top part came out easily enough, all he had to do was slid out the top half of the implant out of his neck. The resulting pieces from the two halves rubbing against each other, on the other hand, needed a different approach. _

_So Ronin used the WA2000's magnetic rails. He set them on high, put the rifle behind his neck, taking out the ammunition as he did so. He pulled the trigger and winced as agony coursed through him as the smaller pieces of the tracker flew out of his neck, attaching themselves to the gun for a brief second. Ronin let out a sigh of relief. _

_Now Ronin was free. Not for a few minutes or hours, but for the rest of his life. Ronin would no longer be monitored. Quickly, Ronin ripped off a strip from his pants and made a compress for his neck. He knew enough of the San Madrid wildlife to be able to heal and feed himself for a while. And now, Ronin was simply going to enjoy his first day of being free._

:\_/:

On another note, Ronin was glad that there weren't any advanced civilizations nearby, because that would have played hell with the moon's light. So, all Ronin needed at the moment was a minimul VISR display. Although he did notice one thing. Two actually. Every so often, there seemed to be a flicker of movement right outside of his field of vision. Ronin wasn't going to stop his self-appointed mission just because of a shadow, but he still had an uneasy feeling. And the worst part was, the moving shadow wasn't appearing on his motion tracker or his stealth detection pack. The VISR wasn't working well either. And there was a strange light hanging over the village he left; Ronin couldn't make out any details, but he guessed that something was going on at the village. A celebration maybe? Who knew, and Ronin for one didn't care. He was worried about his tracker.

Mersevus had been tracking the Voxin from the village ever since he had left. The Reaver scout was quiet as he followed the sniper. If the tales from the Toshigan were true, then this particular Voxin was something akin to a demon, responsible for taking out legions of Toshigan troops with sniper fire and artillary spotting. But according to Lord Zacaus, the Voxin would lead him straight to the target. In fact, Lord Zacaus was still near the village, awaiting word that the Spartan's trail had been found. The Reaver stopped on a high tree branch and observed the Voxin as he passed by under him. _He will lead us right to the boy,_ he thought.

Ronin was still walking, following the trail when he noticed a black mass sitting on a tree branch. He acted as though he hadn't seen it, as he passed under it, he took out a can of soup. Popping the top off, Ronin kept on walking as he tossed up the disguised flash bang/flare into the air. He heard it detonate (thank the random forces of the multiverse for helmets) and turned to see what it was that had been tailing him.

A six foot three cloaked figure was holding its hand up to its eyes, trying to shake off the flashbang. "Graaw, fucking Voxin!" it said, its voice in a highly gravelly, strained English. Mersevus drew his pulse pistol and aimed it at the Voxin. "You couldn't be a good little fox and lead me to the brat, now, you've pissed me off!"

Ronin fired a Slow pulse at...whatever it was. It looked like a classical Grim Reaper, and the funny thing was, Ronin had met a Grim Reaper. Her name was Linda-058. Seeing as the target was now slowed down, Ronin aimed at the pistol it was holding and his gun with full power in the rails.

The round didn't hit the gun, but it did tunnel through the target's hand and arm before flying towards the trees. Pistol falling to the ground, Mersevus glared at the Voxin. "Y-You win this time, _Voxin_," he growled, nursing his mangled arm as he tried to melt into the shadows.

Before the he could disappear though, Ronin fired off a Grav Spike, the momentary white hole blasting into its chest and propelling it off the tree branch and into the trunk of another tree. The creature's back snapped as it hit, but it got up again and continued running off. Ronin, as a scout, was trained not to chase a target. But if this was a scout (and the pistol was all the proof he needed), then this thing had to die. But Ronin decided to use one thing that he never thought he'd use: the Echo VISR. Not a new invention, but it did take getting used to. Immediately Ronin saw his target running through the woods. Lining up the shot, Ronin took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. He saw with little emotion the 7.62mm round travel at two-and-a-half times the speed of sound rip through the targets head, tunneling through more than a few trees on its way to the scout's cranium.

The bullet struck the being's head and obliterated it, sending shards of bone and bits of brain matter everywhere. Ronin went over to where the target lay dead and saw the ground smoking where its blood went. The sniper whistled in surprise. "A humanoid xenomorph. Did **not** see that coming." Hearing a branch snap, Ronin activated his optic displacement drive, spun around, and swept his rifle from side to side, looking for the source of the noise. He did not expect to see his objective standing behind a tree.

Tom had quickly reached where the Voxin stood examining his kill, battle rifle in hand. Moving to stand behind a tree, Tom accidentally stepped on a branch, making it crack violently and loudly under his weight. The Spartan activated his suit's thermal barrier, blocking his body heat from sensors, as well as his VISR. Peeking around the tree, Tom saw the cloaked Voxin searching for him, seemingly not sure of the exact position the Spartan was. Tom looked at the dead Reaver behind the Voxin. _You're out of your league Voxin,_ Tom thought as he slowly flicked the safety of his smaller rifle.

Ronin was glad for the second time in as many minutes that he had the Echo VISR active. Otherwise, he never would have seen Tom standing behind a tree, or the shadow looking at its fallen compatriot and at Tom. Ronin took his rifle and switched the safety on, ejecting both magazine and the bullet currently in the chamber. Sliding the mostly full mag into a belt pouch, Ronin drew out his S&W .700 and shot the shadow next to Tom in the head, the massive bullet obliterating its head. "You're welcome Tom," said Ronin bluntly as he holstered his more or less overpowered revolver. The Voxin soon walked over to the tree next to Tom, deactivating his Echo VISR, leaned on the tree and looked at the moon.

Tom was showered by Reaver brain matter, the caustic blood causing his shields to flare for a brief second. Tom was cursing himself again for being so damned sloppy; this would be a mistake he wouldn't be making again. Now the battle rifle was up and ready to shoot...something.

"Isn't it beautiful?" asked the still invisible Voxin.

Tom quickly guessed where Ronin's voice came from and aimed accordingly. "Quite. Now kindly leave unless you want to start something, you bastards have caused enough trouble," Tom growled. He moved laterally away from Ronin's position, keeping an eye out for the slight shimmer of a cloaking device. "First you put my friend in danger, you opened a dimensional invitation for those other freaks to come here, and now you're mocking me!" At this point, Tom was doing his best not to lose his temper.

Ronin uncloaked and turned to look at Tom straight in the eye-or at least, the Spartan's blue tinted visor. "I was talking about the moon. And for the record, I didn't mean your friend harm, in fact, I was trying to show her that I **wasn't** a threat. Second, the Toshigan Empire has always hated our guts, after losing two wars and all. And since they still have tactical rift generators of their own, we didn't 'invite' them, as you say. Finally, I don't mock super soldiers. I reportedly have no sense of humor," Ronin explained coolly, tapping the screen on wrist mounted TACPAD/iPhone.

Tom normally would agree with the Voxin on the moon. He loved the night sky, but as it was, Tom was still on an adrenaline high. "So the Toshigan hate your guts, great, then take your fucking battle elsewhere. And there is nothing 'super' about me. Finally, you and your CO put me and Rena in harm's way when you brought that smug bastard here!" Noticing Ronin tapping at his TACPAD, Tom raised his long silenced pistol and aimed at the TACPAD. "Sorry, but I can't let you bring in reinforcements." Tom fired his pistol into the wrist mounted computer-only to watch as the round was sent off course by an energy shield.

Ronin jerked his arm back, his face momentarily etched in surprise. Looking at Tom, the Voxin lightly glared at him. "For one thing, what you just tried shooting wasn't a radio, that was my phone. Secondly, I have new orders, and we didn't know about Zack until he tried killing you. That and he ran off when something blew up; I'm going to assume that was your doing. As for taking our fight with the Toshigan elsewhere, we can't. We won that firefight, and HQ is under strategic lockdown. No support, no back-up, and no chance of a pick-up. And I have a feeling that the round you were about to plug in me would be better used on **them**." Ronin pointed at the two smoking corpses.

Tom shook his head. There was no way in hell that he was going to trust him, not after he had orders to capture him. Especially after what he saw at the village and because of Zack. Tom looked over at the Reaver briefly before turning back to Ronin. "I have HE rounds for them, but thanks for the advice, _sarge_," Tom said sarcastically. Tom aimed his rifle at Ronin; if at all possible, Tom didn't want to shoot Ronin unless he really needed to. "Now turn around and report whatever the hell you want to your CO but you come any farther this way and I will shoot." Tom paused to focus his anger. "You, ...DRifters, you can go pound sand for all I care, but I will **not** go back to Orion without a fight. I have no reason to trust you."

Ronin popped his neck as he answered. "Reaper," he said, surprising Tom with the use of his old call-sign, "You trusted me enough not to kill me on sight. Even if I was once under orders by ONI to find you."

"That's because I still have a shred of morality," Tom retorted. "I don't trust you, and if given a choice, I wouldn't want to kill you. But follow me, and I will shoot." Meanwhile, Rena had followed Tom to where he was talking to the weird fox man. Springing from a bush, she leapt over to where Ronin was, grabbed him by his combat vest, and slammed him into the tree.

"You have caused enough trouble! I will **NOT** let you take Tom away from me, not without a fight!" she snarled, lifting him up higher into the tree, her paws starting to glow in pale blue fire. Ronin sighed. Apparently this was one of those days.

"Miss, could you please put me down? I would like to die some other day as a citizen of the United States and with a long-term girlfriend. And Reaper, just so you know, flash bangs at night are the worst idea in night-time stealth, and I'm reading a lot of contacts. Plus Sierra 667 has an overshield. And do you have my SAP rounds by any chance?" Ronin politely asked, not looking the least bit disturbed at the fact that he had a vixen threatening to burn his head off.

Tom's attention snapped back to his surroundings. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the Voxin was right. A flashbang was a sure-fire way of attracting attention at night, and Zack had to have noticed. "Let me worry about Zack Voxin," Tom said coldly. "Yeah, I have your rounds, I think they'll come in handy. Rena, you can put him down, he's not stupid enough to shoot us for the most part. We gotta move, just leave him." Rena was hesitant about letting Ronin go; her eyes were almost burning a hole in Ronin's head. She tossed Ronin a few feet away and went off with Tom. Tom saw-or rather, heard-what Ronin was talking about as the woods around him rustled. Tom checked the mag for the battle rifle and was grimly overjoyed at the fact it was full. The Spartan looked around him for targets before he and Rena went into a dead sprint.

Ronin heard the pursuers as well. After Rena dropped him, Ronin quickly slammed home a fresh clip for his rifle, turned the rails on to half power, and proceeded to follow the two figures ahead of him. He also threw back a can of ravioli, taking the top off of **that** before he tossed it. Ronin activated his stealth drive, and as he was running, watched as a motley collection of troops went after Tom and Rena. Currently, it was shadow freaks and Lupine warriors, and a couple of BIG wolves hauling cannons. Oh, and then there was the platoon of Toshigan Slaughter-masters. Ronin frowned. Shit was going down and in the fan.

As the previous duo ran, the trees gave way to a field and about a klick away was a large house-like structure. After they broke the clearing, Tom turned and dropped to his knee as a few Reavers came out of the trees. He nailed each of them in the head with the battle rifle, watching as more started coming out. "RENA, DON'T LET THEM NEAR YOU, JUST HIT THEM AT RANGE IN THE HEAD!" Tom shouted out as he hustled over to the house.

Rena nodded. "Diamond Shard!" she yelled, throwing a single crystal into a Reavers forehead as it came out of the woods. Tom kept popping off targets, watching in fear as not only Reavers came out, but Lupine Moxelus assassins, some Alpha Berserkers, those things that Tom had seen at the village, and some humans in the worst looking power armor he had ever seen. He then heard the dreaded sound of a railgun charging. Looking at Rena, he saw a green dot flutter on her chest. Images of Devan flashed in his mind; Tom sprang over to Rena just as the shooter, clad in out-dated Mk. II Reflex Armor, fired his modified GR-20 A1. The bullet pierced his shielding in an instant, slowed by Tom's armor, and was laid to rest just behind his back; the organ now suffering was Tom's left lung.

Rena caught him before he hit the ground, the Spartan gasping for breath. "TOM! NO!" Rena shouted, falling to the ground. "Nonono," she muttered. Turning her head to look at the massed force, she snarled. "You BASTARDS!" She rose up as a shining white shell enveloped her, Tom's Digivice coming to life. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE!" Rena was shaking in fury inside the shell of raw data as the Digivice chirped.

"Activate Light Digivolution. Renamon digivolve to Lumenamon."

The shell exploded, revealing Rena in all of her furious glory. Only now, she wasn't a Renamon. She was now a large Kyuubimon, her fur a shining gold and stark-snow white. Now there was a **VERY** pissed off vixen between the enemy and Tom, and by the Light-Bringer, they were going to pay. Snarling in rage, Rena spread out her nine tails, the tips glowing with angry light. "NINE TAIL STAR BOLT!" The orbs took off, and in seconds, vaporized a group of Lupine assassins.

Meanwhile, Ronin was running and gunning as he followed the trail that Tom and Rena left. He heard his slightly-okay, highly-overpowered plasma bomb go off, sending a clear message to Coyote that shit had hit the fan. But right now, the concentration of dead bodies was slowly increasing. He soon ran into a field and saw a Chronoinsurgent sniper take a shot at the Renamon, only for the sickly green round to hit Tom. Ronin responded by shooting the sniper in the head and watched as Rena Digivolved. He was already clueless about Digimon, so whatever the hell Rena turned into, the Voxin didn't have a damn clue. All he knew was that if the Spartan didn't make it, his ass was going to be GRILLED.

Ronin sprinted to where Tom lay, summoning a miniature singularity in the middle of a group of Reavers and drifted over to where Tom was. Ronin quickly fired his mag dry, taking care of a squad of insurgents with heavy weapons. Rena turned and looked furiously at him. Ronin either ignored the look, or he didn't care, but the sniper still kept firing. "Rena," he shouted, "Get Tom to that building, I'll hold them off! After that, a little help would be nice!"

Lumenamon-or Rena, depending on who you talked to,-glared at the Voxin momentarily before unleashing a new attack on a group of Lupine. Spinning head over heels, the kitsune created a mass of light in the shape of a dragon and fired it off. "AURORA WHEEL!" Said wheel utterly destroyed the enemy troops before they could react.

Tom was losing blood, he could barely breath as it was. He watched, clutching his wound as Rena turned into a kitsune, a fox-like creature from Japanese mythology. He soon faded out of consciousness before Ronin got to them.

Rena grabbed Tom by the collar of his undersuit with her mouth and ran off to the house, leaving Ronin behind. Which was great because a pulse cannon obliterated that spot, sending Ronin flying and crashing to the ground a few meters away. The fire stopped as Lupine soldiers, mixed with a few Toshigan, surrounded the prone body of Ronin. Ronin looked up groggilly, hearing the faints sounds of the foes around him as he stared at a phantom of a young Voxin girl. She reached out for him, only for Ronin to be hauled up to his feet to look in the eyes of a Senior Slaughtermaster. Ronin closed his eyes.

_Ba-Boom._

The Toshigan drew out a wicked looking knife.

_Ba-BoomBa-Boom._

The Toshigan pulled his arm back, ready to drive his dagger into Ronin's heart.

_Ba-BoomBa-BoomBa-BOOM._

Ronin's eyes snapped open, his pupils little more than slits when the Slaughtermaster flung his hand forward. Ronin slapped the blade to his side, dropping as the Lupine behind him died in agony from the poisoned blade. Ronin let loose a flurry of punches, stunning the Slaughtermaster long enough for Ronin to take both his assault rifle and his pistol. Spinning round and to the ground, Ronin fired both weapons until they were dry.

_I've got the reach and teeth of a killin' machine, with a need to bleed you when the light goes green, best believe, I'm in the zone to be, from my Yin to my Yang to my Yang Tze._

Ronin sprinted and ducked under a pulse cannon blast. Grabbing the cannon on the Lupine Alpha, Ronin hooped onto its back as its comrades fired at him. Taking the cannon, Ronin fired back before hitting the overload switch. Jumping off of him, Ronin landed meters away when the Alpha detonated, taking with it some Reavers and an assassin.

_Put a grin on my chin, come to me, 'cuz I'll win, I'm one-of-a-kind and I'll bring death to the place you're about to be: a river of blood runnin' under my feet._

Ronin quickly snatched up a Toshigan shotgun and fired, taking out several Lupine in one blast. He unleashed the guns bayonets as he charged an Alpha, the massive wolf flinching and dying as the smaller Voxin plunged the three bladed bayonet into its throat, blood soaring out and coating Ronin's armor.

_Forged in a fire lit long ago, stand next to me, you'll never stand alone._

Ronin didn't notice the bright balls of light the Rena sent downrange. If anything, Ronin added to it as he ripped off the pulse cannon from a dead Alpha and destroyed a moderately sized group of Reavers.

_I'm the last to leave, but the first to go, Lord, make me dead before you make me old._

Ronin bent backwards as a rocket came screaming by his face. Flipping back up, Ronin took his hand cannon and fired, killing the Chronoinsurgent. Meanwhile, Rena was busy keeping the Reavers away from Tom, many of them dying from her star bolts.

_I feed on the fear of the devil inside of the enemy faces in my sights: aim with the hand, shoot with the mind, kill with a heart like arctic ice._

Ronin fired another singularity, adding mayhem to the long since scattered ranks. But Ronin looked at the deserters with vengeful eyes as he drew out a pair of swords from his back.

_I am a Soldier and I'm marching on, I am a warrior and this is my song._

Ronin danced among the last dredges of the enemy, his collapsible katanas cutting them down with ease. Rena had to admit to herself that the fox-man had some skill. Not as much as Tom, but good nonetheless, considering that while there had been close to four hundred and forty some combat units assaulting them, the fox-man had taken care of over two thirds of them.

She looked with a mixture of admiration and suspicion as Ronin quickly came up to where Rena was at the door of her friend's home. Sheathing the katanas, the Voxin looked up at her. "You mind if I patch up your mate?" he asked, taking out a can of Biofoam-N.

Rena incinerated a stray Reaver before turning to Ronin. "My mate, ...um, yes. But try anything, and you'll end up like them, understood?" she responded, nodding her head over to her recent kill.

Ronin smiled. Rena didn't know it, but she was one of only a few people to have seen Ronin smile. Period. "Don't worry, I'm not a fan of suicide," he said as he went over to where Tom lay bleeding. Dropping to one knee, Ronin took the biofoam injector-enhanced with medicinal nanites-and inserted it into his fellow rifleman; when it was deep enough, Ronin squeezed the trigger, filling Tom's chest with an anti-bacterial foam laced with tiny robots designed to bring troops back into action as soon as possible. Taking the thing out, Ronin patted the Spartan on the shoulder. "Hang in there soldier, hang in there," Ronin whispered, his order heard only by himself.

Tom was coming in and out of consciousness, lightly twisting in distress. "Devin..Rena..." he muttered, face twisted in pain. Rena snorted as the last of the enemy forces retreated back into the trees. She turned back completely, ignoring the Voxin as he stood up and backed away; laying down, Rena put her more fox-like head down on Tom's chest.

"Please don't die Tom, don't leave me please," she whined. "Why would you that?" Now the vixen was starting to cry. "Why would you do something that stupid?" Her question was answered unexpectedly by Ronin, who was currently checking the amount of ammo he had on him.

"Because that's what friends do; we save each other's asses even if it means our deaths. And considering that Reaper just took a round from an early model of railgun and survived, he must either like you a lot, or he loves you. Considering current behavior, I'm leaning towards love," he said, putting the can of Biofoam down on a nearby table.

Rena looked over to Ronin angrily. "If you hadn't come along, none of this would've happened," she said bluntly. "I thank you for helping us, but he is still not going back with you to Orion." The vixen laid her head onto Tom's chest so she could feel his heartbeat, which for some reason soothed her nerves.

"Yeah, well, I'm not leaving you two for more than an hour or two. Plus, as it is right now, we can't move anywhere due to that railgun round. Well, I'm going to scavenge what we can from there corpses," Ronin replied, walking out the door as Rena glared artillery pieces at him. The Lumenamon curled herself around Tom, tails covering Tom to keep him safe from the chilly night air. That and Rena was still ready to blast the living hell out of Ronin.

Ronin went ahead and started collecting weapons off the dead. And while he was at it, the sniper decided to set a few traps around the area, just in case. All the while, he saw that the lights around the village were getting more chaotic, until a small mushroom cloud appeared, sending tremors through the ground.

It took him most of the night, but Ronin had finished his traps and collected enough weapons to make the house into a fortress. About twelve pulse cannons at about eighty percent charge, three Toshigan shotguns, with nearly ninety rounds each, four Toshigan SMGs, each with four clips, two of their assault rifles, with nearly twenty mags for them, a Toshigan Spike Pistol, and nearly twenty of their frag grenades. The Chronoinsurgents had only modified GR-20-A1 heavy assault rifles, made to fire 7.62mm rounds. Then there was a single HUNTER class 90mm recoilless rifle, with ten rounds for the gun. Finally, the sniper gathered up the Lupine's SMGs, collecting nearly two _hundred_ clips for the guns. The Lupine only had flashbangs, which Ronin repurposed for trap duty. And for the grand finale, Ronin found that there was one Type 13 Light Assault Gun, with well over two thousand rounds for the weapon; that equated to about twelve seconds of firing.

Meanwhile, Rena was still in her Champion-form, holding onto this form in order to better protect Tom; she still didn't trust Ronin, even though she watched as he gathered up the fallen weapons, made traps, and oddly enough, gave the fallen enemy troops a burial. They didn't have much of a grave, but according to what Tom had told her in the past couple of weeks, a grave for a soldier was a grave to be treasured. For now, Rena stood guard over Tom, almost like a mother protecting her young (or an injured mate). No one would get near Tom unless she said so. Not unless that person also had a death wish.

Darkamon's home was similar to that of a traditional Japanese manor, complete with sliding doors, stone walls, and a meditation garden in the middle. Darkamon, however, wasn't in, most likely visiting family deeper in the valley. Granted, the manor was built to hold at least a pair of Kyuubimon, but since Rena was still slightly larger than a normal Kyuubimon, she felt a bit cramped. She watched warily as the Voxin came back in, obviously tired, but still making himself work.

Picking up a med-pack, Ronin spoke to the kitsune behind him. "We need to fill him back up with Biofoam, and he needs some more nanites. Some herbs should be able to help accelerate the healing process as well. That being said, I will need to get near your mate to help him." Ronin turned to look at Rena expectantly, Biofoam in one hand and a syringe in the other.

Rena looked down at Tom; his gear and armor had been taken off to the best of her current ability and was laid out behind her. The vixen noted the relatively large hole in Tom's chest and the memory of first helping Tom came to mind; how the strange foam hardened in the wound and helped it heal. "Your weapons," Rena stated, pointing her head to a spot by the corner. "Leave them over there, _all_ of them. No funny business."

Ronin complied, taking the ammunition out from his rifle and pistol, removing the chambered round in his rifle, and made it a point to lay down his twin katanas and his only kukri. And as much as it bothered the hell out of Ronin on the inside, the Voxin didn't flinch as he removed his TMD from his wrist. He waited patiently for Rena to move so that the only currently functioning sniper could do some good for his fellow marksman. Rena moved her tails so that the fox-creature could get closer to Tom, but still watched him like a hawk.

"Why do you keep calling us mates?" Rena asked out of the blue. Ronin's ear swiveled to listen to her. "We're just friends, so why do you keep calling us that?" Rena still wouldn't admit it, but she dearly wanted to be more than Tom's friend and partner.

Ronin hmphed in amusement as he injected the medical nanite laced Biofoam into Tom's chest. "The way you two care about each other," he said, taking the syringe full of morphine and injecting it into Tom's bloodstream. "Like I said last night, the two of you have more than a bond of friendship. And knowing that my CO has also mated with a Renamon and sired what I assume to be a fairly good sized clan, you two will work out fine." Ronin swabbed the area around Tom's neck with antiseptic.

Standing up, the Voxin stretched. "Well, all we need to do now is make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid and strain himself. Spartan or not, nobody simply walks off a railgun to the chest, not even my good friend Gym, and he's a robot." Ronin looked at Rena. "I don't know the local flora around here, so either tell me what to look for, or you can get them while I watch over him." Ronin went over to where he put his weapons and strapped on his TMD in a heart-beat.

"Hmph, a human and a Digimon, that's just absurd!" Rena retorted. _Oh, but is it really?_ asked that little voice in the back of her head. She looked back to Tom, seeing his pale complexion. _Tom, I do love you_. Rena glared at Ronin. "No way in the name of the Maiden of Light am I going to leave you alone with Tom! Look, Darkamon was a veteran general and his mate is a healer, she should have an apocathery on the south side of the house," she said. "She stores her herbs there as well. I'll tell what you need to retrieve."

Ronin nodded, taking one of the Toshigan SMGs and loading it with a half full magazine, taking another two of varying capacities. "Well, what are they?" he asked, charging the gun and aiming towards a window. The vixen's response didn't really surprise him. After, she and Tom were pretty much mates, they just didn't know it yet.

Rena told him the names of the herbs needed, and gave the sniper a general description of them. "But they should be labeled and most likely be ready for use," she added, curling up tighter around Tom. Ronin nodded as he hustled over to the south side of the manor, taking a small recon head set with him. Putting it on his head, Ronin activated the VISR, hoping to hell that there wasn't any nasty surprises inside. Whatever the hell the shadow beings he first met were, they didn't show up on most of Ronin's sensors, but the Toshigan, Chronoinsurgent, and what appeared to be a sick twisted version of the Lupine from home would still appear. After about three minutes, Ronin found the room he was looking for. Opening the sliding door, Ronin took one look and whistled in admiration. Damn, if only Varak was with him. The Voxin quickly grabbed the herbs needed, his eidetic memory serving him well for once. Turning around, he saw a shadow disappear behind the door frame.

Ronin crept up silently to the door frame, SMG ready to fire. While the gun wasn't what Ronin would call accurate, the gun carried stopping power, noise, ammunition capacity, and sheer rate of fire. And thank the multiverse that the four inch spikes fired were effective on both shields _and_ flesh, otherwise Ronin would have a hard time killing a few more shadow beings. Turning the corner, Ronin saw a smaller version of the shadow beings sneaking down the hall. Ronin didn't fire the SMG, but rather, shot the damn thing with a Grav Spike, sending the would be assassin through a wall. The thing landed forty feet away in the dirt, got up, and was promptly ripped apart by a hailstorm of razor sharp, molten hot spikes, taking with them its head, upper chest, and an arm. Ronin's gaze was hard. So they were being watched. This wasn't good.

Rena had immediately gotten to her feet, ready to fight when she heard the sound of Ronin's Grav Spike, all nine of her tails pointed straight up and slightly smoking. Just as she did, another Reaver was tossed through a wall and landed hard on the dirt outside. A grey blur came out and landed on the Reaver's neck, the sickening snap audible even to Rena. Rena saw Ronin turn a corner, a new gun up in the air, aiming at nothing at the moment, and the next second was pinned by the grey blur, gun clattering to the floor. It was then that Rena recognized what – or rather, who, the grey blur was. It was a Renamon, and an old friend of hers. But now, Rena was going to see how the Voxin dealt with being pinned to a wall by someone other than her.

The strange Renamon was mostly grey, with golden white fur on its chest, with even whiter fur around its neck. "What in the Sovereigns name are you, and what the hell are you doing in my father's house?!" snarled the stranger, his voice nowhere near old enough to be considered an adult.

Ronin looked at the Renamon who currently was blocking his windpipe. "Sergeant Major Nathaniel Ronin, I'm here to protect someone, and if he doesn't get these herbs," Ronin tapped the pouch he had on his thigh, "He **will** die. As for what I am, you don't want to know," Ronin explained. He was too close to use his TMD, and he didn't want to risk any temporal illnesses.

Rena was partially relieved and surprised at the same time at the new arrival. "Ari,…." The grey Renamon dropped the Voxin and turned to look at Rena, a look of shock on its face.

"L-L-Luna? Is that you?" Ari asked, the Digimon's voice identifying it as a he. Rena de-Digivolved to show that it was indeed her.

"Yes, I'm so glad to see you!" she said, a smile flashing across her muzzle. Ari nodded in agreement before pointing at Ronin, the Voxin standing up and rubbing his throat.

"Who's this guy?" he asked. Rena shrugged.

"He's harmless…for the most part. My ma-my Tamer was hurt bad, he's helping me with him," Rena said, looking at Ronin suspiciously as he knelt down a few feet away, bag of herbs open. Ari looked at Tom and his eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened to him?! He looks frail." Ronin took the liberty of answering Ari's question.

"He took a railgun round to the chest. He's lucky it was only a 7.62mm round that hit him, otherwise he wouldn't have a chest cavity right now. Bonus of having bones of titanium and the round mostly passed through him," Ronin explained as he took out the herbs. "Now Rena, how do I do this?"

"He's not frail Ari, he's stronger than he looks," Rena said proudly. Ari sat next to Ronin and started helping him with the herbs.

"It's been so long Luna, I mean, your mother is worried sick about you, and your father is, well,…" Arie said uneasily. Rena easily understood what he meant, even as she watched Ronin like a hawk. Even after all his help, the vixen didn't trust him, not with his intentions still unclear.

"Ari, I don't care what that asshole thinks anymore, I have a new life now, and a Tamer for Maiden's sake," she replied to her friend, face scrunched up in anger.

Ari looked Tom up and down, then looked back up Rena. "You know what he thinks about humans, he's going to be beyond furious when he finds out," he said. Rena didn't respond, simply brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Tom's face.

Ronin listened to the entire exchange. Outwardly, he was expressionless; inside, the sniper was jealous. At least the vixen protecting Tom still **had** parents that cared about her. At the Spartan whose mother had been with him nearly his whole life, and lastly, Ronin was angered that the Renamon femme next to him didn't know what she had. "Personally," Ronin said, startling both Renamon, "You should count yourself lucky, even grateful Rena." Ronin pounded the inside of his mortar with his pestol. "You at least have parents that still care about you, even if you don't like it. Me, I wish I still had one."

Rena looked at Ronin coldly. "You don't know me!" she said angrily, fangs starting to be bared. "I may not have had it as bad as you or Tom, but you have no idea what it's like to live under the expectations and demands of a man whose only goal in life is to marry off his daughter to some creep, all because of some Stupid LEGEND that says I'll somehow be stronger with him. No, I'd rather die with my Tamer before that happens. And have you ever been known as the runt, the weakling of one of the most powerful families in Kitsune Valley, the let down to the crest on my gauntlets, my so-called _birth right_," Rena was now glaring at Ronin. "I love my family, I really do, but I can't live under my father's shadow anymore."

Ronin finished pounding the salve into submission and looked at Rena, his eyes wavering in envy. The Voxin whispered something so low, that Rena had to ask him to repeat the statement. Ronin looked away.

"At least you were acknowledged for your existence," he said, handing the salve over to Ari. Rena was still pissed at the Voxin, but now she was curious about the odd creature said. What did he mean, _acknowledged for your existence_? Meanwhile, Tom was starting to move about wildly.

_Tom was currently being tortured in his mind with memories of his mother's death, and that of Devin. That, and the night he almost lost Rena. In his dream, all those grisly images flashed in his vision. Tom was curled up against a log, the stars twinkling in the night sky. Tom felt tears roll down his cheeks. _

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, why must I be so weak? Zack is gonna hurt Rena, and I can't do anything about it! First my mother, then Devin, now this: God, why must I be so fucking weak?" Tom cried out as he let out his emotions. _

"_Child, if you knew the power that resided in you, you would not be saying that you were weak." Tom looked up and saw a hooded figure sitting on a stump in a nearby clearing. _

"_Who are you?" Tom asked, rifle aimed at the stranger. The figure chuckled in an almost grandfatherly way. _

"_The time for that is neither here nor now. Young one, what is important is your relationship with Rena. The two of you are meant to be more than just friends, the fate of many depends on that bond of love," the figure said. Tom was surprised-okay, shocked as hell,-at the figure's statement. But then Tom's dream started to fragment into reality. _

"_Wait, how do you know I love her? And what the hell do you mean when you say our fates depend on it?" asked Tom worriedly, as the dark night was quickly being shredded to a white room that slowly filed with more color. _

"_All will be revealed in time." The forest was soon destroyed, only to be replaced with the interior_ of a Japanese style home. Tom felt a pain in his chest as he instinctively bolted up.

"Dammit, stay down soldier! You're going to rip yourself apart if you do this!" Tom heard someone shout, pushing him onto something soft and furry, that same furry being now holding him. Tom suddenly recognized the Voxin and his fight or flight instincts came back online. But then the pair of three fingered paws stopped him from moving.

"Thank the Sovereigns you're alright!" Rena buried her head in Tom's shoulder, crying tears of joy that Tom was still alive. Tom looked around and saw that there was a grey Renamon looking at him.

"She really seems to care for you kid," he said, waving his hand over to Rena. Tom nodded, then shifted his focus to the Voxin who stood up, stretching, the Spartan's ice blue eyes showing his confusion. It was then Tom realized that Ronin still had his mission from ONI to complete; but there was something in that Voxin's eyes that Tom couldn't place.

"W-What happened while I was out?" he asked, looking back to Rena. Tom was slightly surprised at Ronin answering.

Ronin shrugged. "We repelled the assault, Rena Digivolved, I patched you up, and the two of you were almost assassinated. Other than that, not much," the Voxin said, going back to prepping the salve. Tom glared at Ronin.

"Err, yes, thank you for helping, but like I said before, I'm not going back to Orion without a fight," Tom retorted. Pointing to his chest, Tom went on. "This shouldn't take long to heal, and when it does, me and Rena are gone."

Ari looked over at Tom. "I agree, that would be a wise decision, considering that if Rena's father finds out that she's here and has a Tamer; if that happens, shit is going down," the teenaged Renamon said. Ronin shrugged, picking up his SMG and checking it.

"Well, we can't go anywhere," he said simply. Turning to Tom, the Voxin kept on talking. "And no, I'm not going to leave your asses for more than ten minutes. And I don't care how fast you can heal, **NOBODY** walks away from taking a railgun round to the chest, not even a Spartan. So you are staying right where you are, and don't even try to argue."

Tom glared at the Voxin while Ari talked to Rena. "My mother and father are away visiting my grandparents, so you're welcome to stay as long as you like until your Tamer's healed. But I'd stay low if I were you, I mean, if the townsfolk saw you, well, the worst that will happen is that your father comes and drags you back home, possibly crippling Tom and forcing you to marry that dirtbag Gravismon." The young Renamon told his friend. Rena nodded as Ari got up and went off to fix the holes in his father's walls.

Rena still held onto Tom around his neck and thanked Ari. The vixen then turned her attention back to Ronin, eying the Voxin as he started cleaning the SMG. "I'm grateful for your help," she said softly to Ronin, whose ear swiveled to better listen to her. "But I'm still keeping an eye on you."

Ronin shrugged indifferently. "Whatever. I'm getting a bite to eat and grab some shut-eye," Ronin said, getting up. Ronin was about to walk away when Tom spoke up. Rising on shaky legs, the young Spartan addressed the Voxin harshly.

"What is _with_ you? First you show up wanting to bring me back to Orion on a mission you can't complete, you track us through the woods even after I said I would ghost you, and you still act like this is a walk in the park! I know your orders asshole, but what the hell are your intentions? Are you just keeping me alive so you can take me back to Orion? To Hell?" Tom asked angrily, almost pulling out his hair.

Ronin looked back at the Spartan. "First of all _Corporal_," he said coolly, "You need to sit your ass back down before you hurt yourself more than that railgun. Secondly, my CO and I didn't exactly pick this mission. Third, ONI asked for our help in retrieving you, and didn't state how to retrieve you. And as a man who's freed those…who've been enslaved, my CO has a better understanding of your situation than a lot of folks back on Orion. And m-our mission changed after Zack went rogue. So no," Ronin finished, "I'm not going to separate you from your friend and take you back to Orion, dead or alive. You have my word as a marksman."

Tom snorted angrily in disbelief. "Bullshit. You don't need to patronize me with rank, S_ARGE_," Tom hissed bitterly. "I'm not a puppet soldier anymore, so why can't you take your fuckin' squad somewhere else and leave me alone? I had the start of a new life, and for once in my miserable life, I was at peace! I felt like I was actually home, and then _you_ guys came along and fucked it up! Why is it that when I find some semblance of peace in my life, a bunch of interdimensional 'good Samaritans' come and shake it all to Hell?" Tom paused as he realized what Ronin had said earlier. "And do you mean, you didn't pick this mission? You voluntarily went as the retrieval team, didn't you?" Ronin was about to respond when Tom continued his ranting. "Look, point is, you put the only person that still cares about me in danger, and those things are chasing us!" Tom pointed to the woods outside, staring down at Ronin.

"Which ones? Because I have experience dealing with at least half of them," Ronin said as he took out his canteen. Barely giving it a glance, the sniper handed it to the scout. "Look, the only reason we got the mission was because my commander was overdue for a field mission, and we were the only other squad available. CO had bigger problems trying to balance the budget and explaining to the USCMC about why we couldn't help with their xenomorph problem. After all, he can't go about breaking his own regs, right?" Ronin commented as Tom accepted the canteen. Popping the top off, the Spartan took a sip of the enriched water inside of it and then proceeded to gulp it down.

Tom almost gagged after what Ronin said next. "Who knows, maybe he'll ask you to join up. We can use a guy like you. Pick your own missions, have a chance to make a real difference, and asylum from ONI. Pretty damn good deal." Ronin shrugged. "Anyway, wake me up in about seven hours, or if we're under attack, whichever comes first." With that, Ronin leaned into the corner between two walls and closed his eyes.

"W-Wait!" Tom exclaimed in surprise. "You're telling me that you'd let me join you to get away from ONI?" Ronin nodded one last time before the Voxin started snoring quietly. Tom slumped back onto the floor, Rena catching him and slowly taking them both down together. Tom took out Captain Martinez's pistol and performed a routine inspection of it. _If what that Voxin says is true_, Tom thought, _then I can finally get away from ONI. But I can't leave Rena behind, not even for my own freedom_. Ari offered him a bed, but Tom refused, saying that Rena needed it more. While Ari was guiding her to the bed, Tom went over his mental plan of ghosting Zack. Other than putting a bullet between the monster's eyes, Tom didn't have a much of a plan. All he wanted was to keep Rena safe from harm, and the conflict brought by the DRifters didn't help much in that department.

In all, as Tom watched the tree line and the sleeping figure of Ronin, the Spartan was thoroughly confused, concerned, and tired. The future was so damn confusing.


	5. Chapter 5

Warriors and Recruits

After a few days of staying at the manor with Ari and Ronin, Tom was almost healed. His chest still hurt like a bitch, but at least now the Spartan could spar with Rena for about an hour. Today was the day that the retired general, Darkamon, and his mate Hakuramon returned home. It was roughly around noon when Tom and Rena saw the two approaching the manor. The young Spartan was expecting Darkamon to be a Taomon, a Kyuubimon at the very least. So it came as a great surprise to Tom that Darkamon arrived in his Rookie form, the older Digimon preferring the smaller, more agile form than those of the larger and more cumbersome bodies he could go into.

At six foot five, he easily towered over all, with the exception of his mate, who was in her Kyuubimon form. The general had dark grey fur, with a mane only a few shades lighter. The red gauntlets stood out like a sore thumb, giving all who knew him a chance to surrender peacefully when they saw the ruby red gloves with the symbol of balance on its crimson surface. Darkamon's face was that of any old warrior; weathered, experienced, and wise. Unlike her mate, Hakuramon preferred her Champion level form of a stunningly beautiful Kyuubimon. Her fur was mostly gray, with only her eartips a blinding stark white.

Of the two, Rena had been the first to spot Darkamon. She jumped up from her meditation pose and ran up the retired general. During her admittedly depressing life with her father, she had grown quite close to the Renamon who had grown close to her heart. "Darkamon!" Rena cried out as she almost jumped right into Darkamon's arms.

Darkamon was surprised (and glad) that Rena was in his home, and hugged the girl right back. "By the Guardians of Harmony and Light themselves, Luna, you're back! It's been a year since anyone saw you, I was getting worried that you'd been deleted," Darkamon said excitedly.

Ari chuckled from the top of a tree in the courtyard. "Well, she is a crafty vixen, you know that father." Darkamon nodded.

"That she is Ari," said Darkamon. Turning to Rena, the general spoke softly, "I don't blame you for running off, but what brings you back? I know that it is not to comply with your father's wishes.

Rena looked over her shoulder at Tom, who was just standing up. "It has to do with my Tamer," she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as she moved to give the Renamon before her a better view of Tom.

Darkamon's eyes widened in surprise. "A human?! My my, it has been such a long time since they have been in the Digital World. Tell me, what is your name, young human?"

Tom snapped to attention, a crisp salute in the air. Retired or not, the grey furred Renamon was still an officer, and he deserved respect. "Thomas J. Walls, sir," he said, looking Darkamon dead in the eye.

Darkamon chuckled. "Young one, there is no need for that, for we are safe here. And I have to say, you seem like a good match for her," he said, clasping Tom's shoulder.

Tom nodded. "Yes sir, we care a lot about each other."

Darkamon's mate spoke up finally, smiling as she did so. "I can tell. There is a strong bond between you two; I have never seen one quite like it."

"That's what I said after the assault. And sorry about the mess." Darkamon and his mate looked at their doorway, where the oddest creature they had ever seen stood. At five foot eleven, it wasn't as tall as Rena or Ari, but he did stand taller than Tom. Currently, it was wearing some sort of dark green vest, a grey shirt barely visible from the exposed collar, dark green pants that lay above a pair of matte black boots. It could've passed for a Commandomon, if it weren't for the fur and tail. Darkamon was sure surprised that the creature had snow white fur in the middle of summer. Currently, it was checking a rather long brick shaped gun.

Rena looked back towards the white furred soldier as well. "And he is the other reason that we're here. Apparently, that creature's friends want to take Tom away from me," she told Darkamon. Darkamon nodded as he walked up closer to the creature, inspecting him.

"I'm not familiar with your species. You're not a Digimon, that much I can tell, so then, why are you and your comrades trying to take away young Thomas?" he asked, the Digimon's yellow eyes looking over the creature as a potential threat, expression stern, but waiting for a response.

Ronin matched Darkamon's gaze equally. "I am Sergeant Major Nathaniel Ronin, First Dimensional RIFT Reconnaissance Battalion. My team was asked by the piece of shit intel agency he worked for to retrieve him by any means necessary," Ronin explained. "What they failed to mention was that the Spartan they sent with us had a hell of a grudge with Tom, and when we first met, instantly tried to kill Tom. That was essentially the last time I saw the bastard. We also had some old friends of ours pop up, and the rest of my team is currently residing in a village about twelve klicks from here. In light of those events, my CO canceled our mission with ONI and gave us a new one; keep Tom alive at all costs until our strategic lockdown ends and perform an exfil. As for what the hell I am, ask Tom." The Voxin put down the massive gun and took out his rifle, the San Madrid redwood gleaming brightly in the light.

The old general was not moved by Ronin's bluntness. Whether it was because he didn't care, or that he was used to it, Darkamon didn't let on. Turning his attention back to Tom, the Renamon spoke. "Hmm, so my young child, this warrior and his squad," Ronin's eyebrows shot up at the title of 'warrior,' "Wanted you before, but what warrants them to protect you? And what is he?" Darkamon asked.

Tom looked at Ronin, horrified. _And people on Orion thought __**I**__ had problems with officers. I would __**never**__ speak to a general like that, retired or not_, he thought. Looking to Darkamon, Tom answered. "I…I was part of a program that created super soldiers. The Spartan V Program." Tom gave Darkamon a condensed version of his story, telling him where he came from, what he was, and what species Ronin was. "But why they would change their minds about the mission is beyond my understanding at the moment sir," Tom finished, crossing his arms and looking at Ronin.

Darkamon's expression was that of slight amusement. "So you are a warrior; I thought I saw that spark in your eyes. But at the same time," he added, "You're not a typical warrior." _No, young Thomas you are something special._ "As for the…Voxin, as he is called, it sounds to me like he is now more ally than foe at the moment. You are all welcome to stay here for as long as you like, but I warn you, if Luna's father finds out that she's here and has a Tamer,…well, let's just say that he has a knack for taking things to the extreme. I suggest you do not leave the property until you are ready to leave."

Tom nodded. "Thank you sir," he said, bowing low at the waist.

Darkamon smiled. "What kind of host would I be if I were to let the PARTNER of my niece have nowhere to stay?" Tom's eyes widened at the mention of niece, while Ronin shrugged, slinging his rifle over his shoulder.

"Don't worry about me sir, I'll give one of them my room. Used to roughing it, and this gives me a good reason to patrol," Ronin commented, checking the time on his TMD as he went over to where the group was.

Hakuramon shook her head. "No no no, what kind of hosts would we be if we let you do that? Although we only have two rooms," she said coyly, looking at Rena. The young vixen felt her ears heat up in embarrassment at what her aunt implied.

"Well," Rena said, "Tom and I can share a room. I still want to make sure he's okay." Hakuramon nodded as though this was the only answer available.

"That's a splendid idea dear, you and your partner will be comfortable in the room we have in mind! That way, Ronin will have his space I assume?" the Kyuubimon asked, looking over at Ronin. He grunted in exasperation.

"Err,…thank you, ma'am, but you don't need to. We might need that room for triage, just in case something happens," Ronin said, his head hung down, ears burning red for the first time in months.

Darkamon nodded. "And you have no need to worry about the shadow creatures at all. Hakura and I disposed of some on the way back; they know they are outmatched. You have no need to patrol the area sergeant."

Ronin looked at the general with a deadpan look. "Sir, I don't care if it was my own damn base, I'm too damned careful to let up any chance of patrolling go away."

Darkamon sighed. "Do not worry young one, nothing will enter the manor while we are here," he told Ronin, walking off into the manor. Ronin huffed as he looked at the treeline. He knew they were being watched. It was only a matter of time, and it wasn't paranoia that told him that.

Rena saw that Ronin was still tensed up. "Relax fox," she said, using Tom's nickname for Ronin, "If my uncle says its safe, then it is. Now come on, my aunt makes really good dango!" She quickly dashed inside, dragging Tom in with her. Ronin came in with them, and after the first batch of dango hit the table, Ronin took a stick and left, armor on and rifle ready. Hakuramon looked at the retreating tail of Ronin oddly.

"Why didn't he stay?" she asked out loud to herself. To her surprise, Tom answered.

"Because he's the kind of guy who can't rest easy until he knows that everything is secure, and everyone is safe," Tom said quietly, looking at his stick of dango dispassionately. Ari tilted his head in confusion.

"Why would he do that? I mean, when my father says that the compound is secure, then it's secure," he said. Tom looked up at the young Renamon.

"Well, I don't know, and I don't think he'll tell us anyway." The group continued eating their meal, and about an hour after they were done, Ronin came back in, his rifle slung back over his shoulder and looking down at a small photo. The Voxin saw the mixed group of Digimon and human and tucked the photo away. Nodding to Darkamon, the furred sniper-scout went off to his room, taking his armor off as he did so. Rena and Tom quickly followed suit, walking into their new room. Tom gulped as he saw one thing off with the room; there was only one futon.

"Hey Rena, listen, how about you take the bed, I can sleep on the floor or the chair," Tom said, stripping his armor off. Rena gave him an odd look.

"Tom, the futon is big enough for the two of us to share," she said, touching Tom on the shoulder.

The young super soldier-barely-resisted the urge to turn his head into a ripe tomato. Tom looked back at Rena with a look of uncertainness on his face. _Why am I so embarrassed about this?_ He thought, as he told Rena, "Uum, well,-"

Tom didn't get to finish as Rena cut him off. "You're still injured Tom, you need to sleep on a bed. To be honest, I wouldn't mind if we shared the bed," she told him in no uncertain terms. What she didn't tell him was that she **wanted** the two of them to share the bed.

Tom was about to say that there was no way he'd do it when just then, Ronin's drill instructor voice rang out from the other room. "_**CORPRAL!**__"_ Tom within seconds was in Ronin's room, M6D searching the room for targets. The only thing he found was the Voxin sitting cross-legged on his futon, armor neatly assembled nearby, and revolver by his side. Tom was confused.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Tom asked, scanning the room.

Ronin's forest green eyes looked up to Tom's arctic blue ones. "Nothing, except for one little thing," he said, almost as if a paranoid Spartan barging into a room with a powerful pistol was normal. Which, considering what Ronin had done in the past, was pretty much true.

"Damn fox," Tom said, using a nickname he had given the Voxin a few days earlier. "I thought you were under attack or something. So, what's the problem?" Ronin nodded towards the wall.

"Reaper, how long have you lived in a barracks?" Ronin asked.

Tom looked at Ronin oddly as he reholstered his pistol. "All my life, why?"

Ronin smirked contentedly. "Think of sleeping on the same futon with Rena as being similar. Except that you're sleeping with the girl you like, and not some guy who wants to shank your ass to oblivion."

Tom's jaw dropped. He blushed, and quickly left the room. Going back into his and Rena's room, he saw that the vixen wasn't in the room. Tom really didn't care at the moment, because he was surprised to find that he was pretty doggoned tired. The Spartan took the M6 and holstered it, placing it next to the futon, knowing he was going to share the bed.

Normally, Tom would sleep in nothing more than his boxers and his bodysuit, but considering that he was in a safe area, he decided to wear something slightly more comfortable. He threw on a pair of old PT sweat pants and climbed into the futon. The moment his head hit the pillow, a rapidly falling into dreamland Tom started thinking about what Ronin had said to him. Rena soon came in, and after she took off her gauntlets, did the same. Looking at the back of her friend's head, Rena whispered, "Goodnight, my Tamer."

Tom was mostly asleep at this point, but he was awake long enough to say the same to Rena. The last thing that ran through his head was, _this is better than sleeping in a barracks._

Rena closed her eyes, but for some reason couldn't find slumber at all. Something just seemed…missing. As she laid there next to Tom, the vixen started hearing him talk in his sleep.

"No, no, Rena…please, I can't lose you!..."

Rena was surprised at his words. Sure, she knew he had nightmares, but those were usually about losing Devin; this was uncharted territory for her. Rena surprised herself by putting her arms around Tom and pulled him closer to her. The way his body felt against hers-it just felt right to her. "Shh, it's okay Tom, I'm not going anywhere," she said softly into his ear.

Rena soon fell into a dreamless sleep, a smile on her lips.

Ronin was looking over a message that he had gotten a day ago from Varak. What it said wasn't good. There was apparently an army of shadow beings, a full company of Toshigan Special Operations, a battalion of Lupine assassins, five three man teams of Lupine Berserkers, and as Ronin had found out, elements from a Chronoinsurgent cell. Ronin huffed in grief as he read that Mother and Gym were both KIA, as well as over a dozen Renamon warriors who had evacuated the village. The only good news was Coyote had patched up his relationship with Rahne, but was mixed with the only somewhat bad news of needing medical attention for a few injuries. Still troubled, the sniper didn't really notice Darkamon come in until the elderly Renamon spoke up.

"Bad news from the rest of your team?"

Ronin nodded. "There's a small army in the area, and my team was defending the village we came from the night Tom, Rena, and I came to your home. I have two KIA, my superior officer wounded, and one soldier currently missing. And to top it all off, all we have in terms of supply is what we brought over with us initially," he said, tapping a button on his TACPAD.

Darkamon moved into the room. "Hmph, the size of the force matters little; it is the skill and cunning of the warriors who fight that matters," the old general said, standing by the door. "Now, I know little of the technology of the real world, but the laws of battle are universal, even against insurmountable odds. A warrior can succeed if they believe in themselves and in their brothers-in-arms. But the most deadly kind of warrior is the one that is fighting to protect that which is precious to them." Darkamon looked over to the wall where Tom and Rena's room shared with Ronin's. "You have powerful allies as well. That boy and my niece together possess great power. They just need to realize it themselves."

Ronin put the pad down and stared off into the void. "I…I can understand that. I'm fighting for someone I've only met once. Might help if I protected those two lovebirds," Ronin stated softly.

Darkamon smiled. "Now you are starting to think like a warrior. But think of those two as just lovebirds. They are more together than they ever would be apart; and they were powerful before."

"Sir, I know. My CO is mated to a Rahne of the Faint Smile, and I've been lucky enough to serve alongside with some of Tom's predecessors. And sir?" Ronin asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm not a warrior," Ronin said, "I'm just a man trying to find his way, that's all." The Voxin rubbed the back of his neck, a motion that didn't escape Darkamon's notice.

The general shook his head. "No mere man would risk his life to protect others he does not know. My young sergeant, you are a warrior whether you think so or not. You simply need to find out who you are; when you do, your path will become clear," Darkamon stated wisely. "And humbleness and modesty are virtues of a true warrior as well."

"No sir, it comes with being a slave since freed," muttered Ronin, his voice showing more emotion than was normal. Darkamon looked at Ronin oddly.

"A slave you say? But you're a _former_ slave, are you not?" Darkamon asked. Ronin nodded. "Then as a free man, it was your choice to lay your life on the line for Thomas. And did you not volunteer for this solo mission?"

"Sir, the choices we make sometimes don't kill the ghosts of your past. There's a lot I'm not exactly proud of."

Darkamon nodded sadly. "There is a lot we may regret in our lives, but we cannot dwell on them. We learn and move on, that's the key to success."

Ronin shook his head in shame. "Not when you see the faces of the people you see in your scope, the moment before you take their life. Not when you lose so many people under your command." The sniper started thumbing through a sizable collection of silenced dog tags.

Darkamon looked down at the tags. "You feel regret for all who have fallen under your command? Then you and Thomas share more in common than you think. The past will only hurt the two of you if you let it." The general turned to leave, and at the door, said one last thing to the white furred sniper. "Perhaps I don't have the answers you seek. But maybe Thomas does." The general finally left the room, leaving Ronin alone.

Ronin sighed, falling into his futon, hoping he wouldn't have to be a pale angel of Death for longer than was necessary.

_Next Day_

Tom woke, feeling refreshed for once. Sure, he had a nightmare about losing Rena, but then the dream changed. He was being hugged in the dream, and it felt…nice. It was then that Tom noticed the extra pillow he knew he didn't place last night. It was soft and warm, and _moving_. Tom slowly turned his head and saw Rena holding him, her eyes closed in blissful sleep. The Spartan's face then decided to outshine a stop light. He liked the feeling, but this was the first time that he had actually been physically close to her and-her fur was really, _really_ soft.

The Spartan laid there, both due to comfort, and in no small part to shock.

Ronin was up already, his daily ritual almost done with, with the addition of inspecting all of the weapons that he had taken off of the fallen soldiers' bodies. The sniper had particularly enjoyed cleaning the Type 13 Light Assault Cannon and the older than hell GR-4A1 rifles. Now the only thing he needed was coffee, and currently, MRE issue was the only choice. Walking down the hall, Ronin reached a door and opened it. He expected to see his equipment, not the Spartan V turning into a tomato just from being cuddled by his unofficial mate. Noting the rather compromising position, Ronin looked down at Tom, and waited.

Tom didn't even notice Ronin come in. Rena's eyes slowly opened up, the glittering emerald orbs making his heart skip a beat for no known reason to Tom. Rena smiled as she looked into Tom's blue eyes. "Good morning Tom," she said sleepily, just now noticing Tom's red face.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I Corporal?"

Tom almost jumped through the roof as he heard the oddly humor filled voice of the Voxin come out from behind him. Looking at the other sniper, Tom opened and closed his mouth like a fish; never before in his life had he been so…wordless about anything. But the display of affection that Rena had given him, well, that was something that was entirely new for him. "Sir, this is not what it looks like," he said, resorting to that time old military fallback for compromising positions. "I just woke up like this, uh, nothing happened! Everything's fine!"

Rena looked at Tom. "No you're not! It was cold last night and you were shivering in your sleep!" she said. The vixen didn't tell him about the nightmare that had disturbed Rena, or the real reason she was still embracing him. But, with some reluctance, she got up, stretched, and left the room, tail swaying gently as Ronin moved aside for her to leave. The Voxin looked over at Tom.

"Dammit, it's too early in the morning for this, I need some coffee. Reaper, report to me at 1000 hours, I want to talk to you about something," he said slowly, backing out of the room. Ronin may have been the third best sniper in the multiverse, but he was number one in not being social. With that, Ronin went to his room to prepare himself a cup of energy giving Joe.

Tom couldn't even make a remark about Ronin not being able to order him around. But as Tom looked up at the ceiling, he wondered about why Rena holding him made his heart race. Sighing, he got up and put on a simple outfit of ACU TACPants and a plain black t-shirt emblazed with the grey letters _U.N.S.C._ Attaching his sidearm to his thigh, Tom grabbed an MRE and went to the dining room to eat his quick made meal of bacon and eggs. Five minutes later, Tom had finished devouring his breakfast, and after putting the trash away in his rucksack, Tom went next door to Ronin's room.

Ronin was glad that he had coffee. For the past few days, the Voxin had only gotten about three hours of sleep, if that, so he was understandably drop-dead tired. After considering the current situation with Zack and all the other hostiles, Ronin had decided to do something that was most likely very stupid. Hearing his door open, Ronin looked over and saw Tom standing there. Looking to both his datapad and his TMD, Ronin quirked an eyebrow. "You're early," he stated simply.

"And that's a bad thing?" Tom asked as he actually took a good look at Ronin's room. It was spotless, and seeing the futon, the Spartan noted that it looked almost as if Ronin hadn't slept in it at all. Nearby was Ronin's rifle, neatly disassembled in easy to put back together pieces. There was also a datapad sitting on the table in front of Ronin.

Ronin shook his head. "Not usually something I see in a candidate." He motioned to the spot across from him at the table. "Please, take a seat. Hopefully this won't take long."

Tom looked at where Ronin pointed. "Candidate…what won't take long?" Tom asked as he sat down before Ronin.

Ronin put down the coffee and looked at Tom. "I want you to answer the following questions to the best of your ability," he said, ignoring Tom's question. "Can I trust you to do that?"

Tom nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," Ronin said. "First; what is your skill set?"

Tom looked at Ronin sheepishly. "Well, I've been trained in advanced, multi-discipline hand to hand combat, special operations and application marksmanship, stealth recon, and target painting. I'm pretty mean with my plasma swords as well, and of course my normal Spartan training."

Ronin nodded. Other than being a Spartan, similar skill set as himself. "So why be a sniper?"

Tom shrugged. "Command said I was to be trained as a sniper, so I was. Got to be so good, I currently hold a few records in marksmanship. And there's something about tracking a target that gets the blood flowing."

Ronin resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. He had the guy version of Linda-058 in front of him. "Okay. Now, what did you consider wrong with ONI?" Ronin hoped to hell that this wasn't much of a personal question.

Tom looked at Ronin blankly. "Long version or short?"

Ronin shrugged. "Whichever you feel like telling me."

Tom snorted. "Since we probably don't have much time, I'll stick with the short version. ONI was a bunch of selfish bastards who were concerned with clandestine political runs for obtaining even more power than they already had. They basically killed the UNSC of old," Tom said coldly, his hand clenched and shaking.

Ronin bowed his head. "I see." Ronin could tell that there was a lot of bad blood in this, and decided not to push it. "So," Ronin asked, "What is your impression of the Dimensional RIFT Reconnaissance, after seeing us in action?"

Tom looked up, startled. "Well, you're pretty good at showing up at the wrong time, but aside from that, it seems like a good team."

Ronin shrugged. "Sorry, we can't predict the future. Not allowed to, and it's damn near impossible. And plus, we aren't just a commando sized group either."

Tom nodded. "Yeah, back on Orion, we used to hear scuttlebutt about you guys. Patrolling the multiverse or something to that effect like an interdimensional police force or something."

"In layman's terms, yes," Ronin said as he tapped away at the datapad. "What we are is a shield to key universes, peacekeepers in most of them, and preservers of those not ready to join the balance of power in the multiverse. And we offer safe haven for those with troubled pasts. Like myself, for instance." Ronin put the pad down and motioned for Tom's hand.

Tom hesitantly gave the Voxin his hand. Taking it, Ronin put the Spartan's hand over the back of his neck, letting him feel the remains of the tracking beacon. "You feel that?" Ronin asked.

Tom nodded. "Yeah, feels like a standard issue tracking chip. I've seen them all the time on…on…." Tom stopped as realization about Ronin's past dawned on him. "Slaves," he said breathelessly, taking his hand away from the Voxin's neck.

Ronin's eyes didn't waver as memories of his 'childhood' flashed before his eyes. "Yes, I was one. SM-VG1S-094532 was my slave designation," Ronin explained. "My first master and my mother named me Nathaniel. I escaped after shooting my second master, cut out the guts of the tracking beacon, and survived for a year in the wilds of San Madrid. I was then recaptured by my master and tortured. I was saved when the Toshigan came to take over San Madrid. I had killed that bastard of a master in the initial hour of the attack, and was saved. Back then, he was only a Second Lieutenant, but he was the only one who knew both how to operate the Reflex Armor and to be human." Ronin closed his eyes in memory. "I imprinted on him as my new master, and I don't regret that decision at all. I owe him my life." Ronin then looked at the unit patch on his uniform; the hexagonal delta, the stylized silver dragon, the vibrant blue in the delta…it all served to harden Ronin's resolve. "Being a DRifter isn't about being the perfect soldier, or keeping the peace at all costs. It's about doing the right thing, even if no one walks that road with you. Especially if it's only you who should walk that road." Ronin looked back at Tom. "I believe you have that in you."

Tom looked uneasy. "Are you sure about that? You know about the monstrous things I had to do for ONI, and those weren't always the right things," he said, looking down at his feet.

"Ever heard of the French Foreign Legion?"

Tom looked up in confusion. "Yeah, but what do they have to do with anything?"

Ronin genuinely smiled. "Because like them, we give all a fresh start, within reason. After a few strings are pulled, you won't ever have to worry about your version of ONI ever again. Ronin slid the pad over to Tom.

Tom looked at it incredulously. "Y-You want me to join you guys?" he asked in disbelief. This made him happy, but there were a few things on his mind. Did he really want to chance being put back in the same situation that ONI put him under, and then there was the question of Rena….

Apparently Tom's thoughts were on his face, because Ronin then told him the punch.

"Two year mandatory service, re-enlist as often as you want. Three years, and you can have a civilian job while you go through the reserve period. Right now, you can skip basic and AIT, but I can't give you this," Ronin said, pointing to his TMD. "You sign, and you're no longer a member of the UNSC, you are a member of the craziest frat house in existence, with people who care about you as a person, not a statistic." Ronin took out a stylus and held it over to Tom. "Best part is, your friend comes back to Bragg with us."

Tom looked between Ronin and the datapad in disbelief. _Could this really be true? Oh, fuck it._ Tom took the stylus from Ronin and signed down near the bottom of the pad. "He, you know Fox, the way you describe it, you have a promising future in the recruiting business. But ya know what, I've got nothing to lose, so I'll see how legit you are myself," Tom said, finishing his signature and sliding the pad over to Ronin.

"Thank you," said Ronin as he finalized the digital paperwork. Even on the field, he couldn't escape the dreaded paperwork; now he knew why his CO loved fieldwork. "Now all we need to do is slap the unit patch onto your armor. And now," Ronin added, realization hitting Tom like a gold brick wrapped in lemon, "I need you, Corporal, to check our stockpile of weapons and do an ammo count if possible, starting with this. I may have missed a few things, considering the state I was in earlier." Ronin handed Tom his revolver.

Tom took the massive pistol and looked at it. Sure, he had held it when he met the Voxin the first time-and disarmed him, but he never actually looked at it. Along the Picatinny Rail on top of the gun, there was some intricate floral detailing along the barrel, stopping just short of the muzzle. On the cartridge cylinder, there was what appeared to be an etching of a forest. The grip was mostly normal, except for all of the inlaid red wood. Damn, if Tom had to guess, the grip alone weighed five pounds! Taking out a bullet, Tom's eyes widened at the .700 Magnum slug weighed down in his hand. "Isn't this a bit excessive for a sidearm sir?" he asked.

Ronin shook his head, body in the doorway and holding a shovel. "No. Besides, the bullets work well on Toshigan armor, seeing as I forgot which ones are mass-reactive. Have fun with the rest." With that, the sniper left, leaving the recruit to his duty. And now Tom smiled. He had assured Rena's safety with him, and he had essentially severed any connections with ONI. His life was getting better.


	6. Chapter 6

First Recon

Rena was sitting in the garden in the inner courtyard, meditating in the early day's air. It was a habit of hers that she did whenever she felt confused, and by the Maiden, was she confused. For the most part, it was about her developing feelings for Tom, and Rena for the life of her could not figure out what was wrong. It was a couple of hours before she would spar with Tom, yet fate had decreed that the Spartan in question come early after inspecting all of the captured weapons from the assault. What the young super-soldier didn't know as he stood off to the side watching her was that ever since becoming partners, he and Rena had a sort of bond between them. Rena cracked a smile. "Good morning Thomas," she said sweetly, not even moving her head or eyelids as she said this.

Tom was still a bit flustered from what had happened that morning, but his heart started racing again once Rena spoke. And for the life of him, Tom could not figure out why. "A-ah, Rena, you have a minute?" he asked.

Rena opened her eyes and looked at Tom. "Of course," she replied, making herself comfortable. "I've always got time for you. What's wrong?"

Tom sat down across from her and sighed. "I'm terrible with saying stuff like this, but after all we've done these past few weeks, after how close we've gotten…Rena, I just accepted a new position…."

Rena stared at Tom, stunned. _Oh Soveriegns, is he leaving me? Did that bastard fox convince him to push me away? I'm gonna kill that fox!_ She thought.

Tom saw her expression of hate and hastily added, "Rena, if I were to leave the Digital World, you would you come with me?"

Rena almost fainted, her heart skipping a beat. "T-Tom, of I will!" she answered, tears threatening to form in her eyes. "Tom, you're my Tamer; where you go, I go."

Tom smiled at her after she said that. It might have been how her voice sounded, or the soft gaze she now gave him, but now, Tom's chest felt a bit tighter, but in a good way. "T-That's great! But Rena, we have to take care of some things here first."

"Yes, about that." Tom and Rena turned and saw Ronin standing there, a dirty-and somewhat bloody-shovel sticking from the ground, and putting an even more bloody data chip into his TACPAD.

Tom shook his head in exasperation. "Good God, someone needs to put a bell on you or something. I mean, how is it that you keep sneaking up and popping up at the most awkward of times?" Tom said.

Ronin snorted. "Sure, and I get to call Rena 'Fluffy.' It's not going to happen. But I have a rather…insane proposition for you," Ronin said, tapping away at the TACPAD.

Tom shrugged. "Okay, shoot."

Ronin huffed soundlessly. "We need to take the fight to Zack."

Silence reigned for nearly ten seconds, only to be destroyed by Tom's braying laughter. "You're right fox," he said, "That is insane. He'd expect that; hell, only way we can even get within a mile of him is if we catch him by surprise, otherwise we're dead. Sir," Tom added, still not used to being under Ronin's command. Or just a commander in general.

"Besides, Zack _has_ to have some sort of ulterior motive than just killing me. You don't waste an entire army just on one person."

Ronin smirked. "We're not going after Zack; we're going after his communications equipment, and if possible, that damn mole if they're there."

Tom stood up angrily. "What about recon?! You forgetting that?!"

Ronin shook his head. "No. You're going in for simple visual, I'm trying to see what this Slaughtermaster saw before I blew his head off with his own shotgun, and if I had a direct line to Driftech, then maybe-"

Without warning, Ronin's cell phone went off, giving both Tom and Rena the opportunity to actually see Ronin be surprised. In seconds though, the Voxin had the phone out and next to his ear. "Sergeant Major Ronin, Dimensional RIFT Second Company, may I-"

"_**RONIN, WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON?!**_"

Ronin quickly jerked the phone away from his ear as Coyote's mother yelled through the connection. After a few seconds, her voice died down, and Ronin gingerly put the phone back to his ear. "Ma'am," Ronin stated, not eager to set her off again, "I don't know where my CO is. Not, my gear isn't set up for that. Yes, I am aware of the lockdown. Don't worry Ma'am, I'm sure that he's still alive." Mentally, Ronin was terrified. Ronin had met with his CO's family a few times, and he knew that Colonel Monnot could easily rip him a new one if she so wanted.

At this point, both Tom and Rena were backing away from Ronin. Tom could practically _feel_ the fury from the other side of the phone, and Rena was just curious as to who Ronin was talking to. Meanwhile, a local farmer, looking over at the garden of Darkamon, saw Rena. Recognizing Rena, he dropped his tools and ran off to the home of the esteemed Doamon, preaching the word that Rena had finally come to her senses.

Ronin sighed. "Ma'am, can I **please** talk to either Mel or Sean? Thank you," he said into the phone. Covering the receiver, Ronin uttered two words. "Dragon Lady." Tom and Rena looked at each other in confusion.

"Sean, that you? Great, listen, I need some gear for a two man search and slam op, what do you have? Oh…I see,…understood,…you have WHAT?!..._THEN SEND IT OVER!_ I'll need half a drum of plasma, another half drum of wave, and however many armor piercers they can handle. What's the ETA? Done in five? Okay, I'll tag the location. Wait, you're sending me what? Sean, are you-" Ronin looked at his phone in disbelief. "He hacks into my phone from universes away and he hangs up on me. What the hell?"

Tom and Rena were still confused about what the hell just happened. Ronin turned to look at Tom.

"Corporal, you're with me. Rena, you can come along if you want to," the sniper said, walking briskly out of the garden. Without any other real choice, the two of them followed the Voxin to the outside of the manor. Stopping out in the middle of the field, Ronin stood still and pointed his TMD at the ground a few meters away.

Tom looked at Ronin oddly. "What, are we going to wait for them to teleport us this equipment?" he asked, wondering why Ronin wasn't moving a single muscle. Seconds later, a soundless boom and a flash of blue light signaled the arrival of fresh supplies. Tom and Rena looked up to see what was best described as a mountain of ordinance stood where there used to be nothing. Among the three or four drums of infantry ammunition, there were a pair of mechs, a weapons rack for said mechs, and what was best described as an M512 M808 MBT turret that had been ripped off and given a handle. And then there was an M12 LRRV with a Gauss Cannon. "Impressive, but do we really need all this equipment? I mean, yeah, sure, the ammo is great and all, but _**mechs**_? I thought were going to perform recon sir," Tom said doubtfully as Ronin climbed into one the mechs cockpits…which was also located in the chest cavity.

Rena just stared at the mechs before her. They looked similar to Gallantmon, but painted in a dark, olive green, and they had no impression of faces. Ronin tapped a few buttons as he harnassed himself to the twenty foot tall machine, the chest panels sealing him in. In moments, the four "eyes" of the mech lit up, casting a sharp, bright blue light from them. With not even a faint whirr of movement, Ronin walked over to the massive weapon rack and lifted up a relatively compact gun. Granted, said gun was about seven feet long, and apparently fired rounds as big as her arm, but that didn't diminish Rena's fascination with the machine.

"The M52/S Combat Support Platform has a faint, scattered thermal signature, is invisible to radar and most other sensors, and among other things, has an upgraded Bubble Shield," Ronin said, walking the mech over to a shaded spot. The hatch opened, and the Voxin climbed out, carrying what appeared to be a sewer lid sized robot. "And for the kicker, comes equipped with an M9 URAV minidrone."

Tom shrugged. "I suppose that's great and all, but can we not go in guns blazing?"

Ronin nodded as he took out his datapad and linked it with the drone. Rena then chose that moment to say, "It looks like a Gallantmon!"

Tom looked at his friend confused. Ronin decided to enlighten the teen. "They look like giant, red knights armed with lances."

"Oh."

"Corporal, I'll need you to get the other suit and move it over here," Ronin ordered, pointing to the mech behind him. "After that, you can just put the ammunition in the Hog and park it by the mechs as well. After that, you have until 1830 to get ready for joint recon. Understood?"

Tom saluted casually. "Yes sir," he answered, moving towards the other mech. "Um, how do drive it sir?"

"The M52 is a giant set of armor; just strap yourself in and move like normal after you hit the big blue button," Ronin said, looking back at the datapad. Tom uttered his thanks and got into the mech. Looking at the Master/Slave control system, Tom almost instantly remembered his training in the old Cyclops walker units back on Orion. _This'll be a piece of cake_, Tom thought as he strapped himself in. Pushing the blue button, the chest sealed him in, and several holographic display screens popped up, displaying to Tom the mech's structural integrity, reactor output (it was amazing too; a cold fusion reactor was something that wasn't all that common in the UNSC, and the Sangheili Empire had never even heard of cold fusion), pilot status, and otherwise looked similar to the inside of his helmet. Tom gingerly moved his right foot forward. The mech did the same, and Tom was shocked at how _quiet_ the mech was. He could get used to this.

Walking over to the weapons rack, Tom lifted up a gun that looked almost like a sniper rifle. The weapon info then popped up on his HUD.

_M404S Semi-automatic Gauss Rifle_

Tom looked up at how large the clip was, and his eyes widened at seeing that the thing carried twenty-five rounds in its boxy magazine. Whistling, he placed the rifle on his back, grabbed both edges of the rack, and lifted it off the ground. And it was weird too, because Tom could still feel how heavy the damn thing was through the mechs negative feedback controls.

While Tom was working, Rena walked up to Ronin while he was trying to set up the drone. Ronin tapped a button, and the little drone shot sparks out from its chasis. "Dammit!" Ronin hissed, glaring at the offending drone.

"What's wrong?" Rena asked, looking bewildered at Ronin's sudden outburst of emotion.

"Machinery hates me. Well, everything that isn't my equipment and cars," Ronin said sharply, rubbing his temples. Putting his datapad, the Voxin took out a small pack and opened it, revealing tools the likes of which Rena hadn't seen before. Ronin looked into it and took out a Phillips head screwdriver.

"Then why use this then?" Rena asked, now curious as to how stubborn the Voxin was.

"Because," Ronin responded, screwing open the drone's top half, "As much as I trust Tom's eyesight, I prefer having multiple eyes in the area. And this drone has a few tricks in its eyes that Tom doesn't have in his helmet."

Rena paused, watching as Tom moved the equipment from its spot on the field to where they were currently standing. After a while, Tom finished moving everything and went back inside, most likely to mentally prepare himself for the operation. "Ronin," Rena said simply. Ronin didn't look up from his work, but he did twitch his ear in her direction, acknowledging her statement. "This is all very impressive, but does Tom really need this? He's done very well so far with only the gear he took with him."

Ronin sighed. "Rena, up until this point, you and Tom have only had to fight a Champion level threat, AT worst. These guys, they outnumber us. They outgun us. Hell, they even staged a strategic lockdown just so that they can take over our base in Tom's universe. And we can't call in reinforcements, or call in for extraction."

The two of them simply stayed in silence for a few hours, Rena watching the wind running through the trees, and Ronin was busy repairing the drone.

"Rena, could you pass me the Phillips head screwdriver? I left it over there by the datapad." Rena looked over to where Ronin said, and saw a small, rod-like tool with a thick handle. Picking it up, she tossed it to Ronin, who caught it in midair without looking. "Thanks," he said, taking the top panel of the drone and proceeded to screw the top back on.

"Ronin, why did you ask Tom to join you?" Rena asked.

Ronin didn't answer for a while, working on the drone. Finishing it, Ronin put down the screwdriver and looked at Rena sadly, his green eyes meeting hers. "Because when I look at Tom, I see myself." Seeing Rena's surprised face, Ronin continued. "Tom deserves better. I of all people here should know. Tom needed refuge from his sick, twisted version of ONI, and as of now, he knows the enemy better than I do. And I don't have the heart to destroy a bright and shining future."

Rena crouched down to Ronin's level. "And…you'll let me come back to the Real World with Tom?"

Ronin nodded. "I have a policy of not lying to people I trust. Besides, that one Renamon from the village, oh what was her name, oh yeah, Rahne, my CO is taking her back to Bragg with us, as well as Sora."

Rena smiled, and without warning, lunged and hugged Ronin. "You really mean it? No strings attached I can still be with him?" she asked happily. Ronin hesitantly hugged her back, his ears now trying to burn themselves off.

"On your Maiden of Light's name and grace, yes."

Rena hugged him tighter, and then let go, a grin now on her muzzle. "Thank the Sovereigns! It's just that, the thought of being away from Tom makes me sad." Rena looked down in embarrassment. "So, thank you."

Ronin sat there, stunned that he had been hugged by another guy's girl. "Um, you're welcome," Ronin said, taking his datapad and tapping commands in. The drone slowly buzzed to life, and began to rise in the air. Looking at the setting sun, Ronin looked towards Darkamon's manor. "Go get Tom, would you? It's time."

Rena stood up and brushed some dirt off her fur and went inside. The mood was dark, as Darkamon, Hakuramon, and Ari looked at Tom glumly. Tom looked up and saw her, and nodded, taking his helmet from the table. Going back outside, the two saw Ronin sitting on the shoulder of the mech he had driven, the drone now high in the air. Seeing Tom, Ronin pointed to his ear. Tom understood the message and put his helmet on.

"Tom, the best I can do with this is monitor troop movements and make a map, so don't expect fire support," Ronin said.

Tom shrugged, the skeletal jawbone painted on his helmet revealing his call sign. "Don't plan on firing shots today fox."

Ronin nodded. "Stay frosty then soldier," he ordered. Looking at Rena, he added, "Stay alive for another day with her."

Tom grinned under his visor. "I will." Moving out, Tom softly said through his radio, "Aim with a hand, shoot with the mind, kill with a heart like arctic ice."

Tom was surprised to hear Ronin continue that part of the song. "I am a Soldier and I'm marching on, I am a Soldier and this is my song." Tom looked up and saw the drone fly about and head of to the south.

:\_/:

After an hour of walking and scouting, Tom and Ronin found Zack's base. Looking through his scope, Tom swore. "Shit. We've got Lupine Spec Ops assassins and Berserker units, a lot of shadow freaks, your Toshigan friends, and a few Mgalekgolo for support. Vehicles I can see are just Ghosts, a few Wraiths, and I don't see Zack anywhere. Thank God we didn't bring the mechs, we'd have been slaughtered before we got close." Tom paused. "Foxtrot Actual, I think we have an invasion in the works."


	7. Chapter 7

Recovery One

Ronin frowned as he saw the army down below the drone. "Copy that Foxtrot One, I see them. Look for comms equipment, or anything you think might be important. We want to cut these bastards off," he said.

A few miles away, Tom rolled his eyes. "Actual, I'm still doing my sweep." Tom looked back through his scope and searched for anything that said communications. He caught glimpses of it just as a Wraith, a few Locusts, and a massive suit of armor went by. "I think I found it. Sending coordinates."

Ronin looked at the coordinates Tom sent him. Yep, it was **their** tech being used against him, Ronin would recognize a functional .R Relay anywhere. "Foxtrot One, that is our target. We hit it, and those bastards are stranded here just like us." Ronin looked at Tom's position. "Foxtrot One, be advised, you have tangos coming in on your seven, advise moving." Already, Tom could see ways to penetrate the defenses. It sure as well wasn't going to be easy.

Tom looked back and saw the enemy patrol moving towards him. Getting up, he moved quietly around them and vanished back into the forest. "Actual, this place crawls. There's no chance I can stay here without detection. Besides, after we blow the comms, we still have to worry about that army. I'm coming back, I think we can make a plan after this."

Ronin nodded. "Understood. Foxtrot One, come on back,- wait, something's coming in through that relay,…holy SHIT! Foxtrot One, get the hell out of there now!" Ronin yelled in fear as a Wrath class SIN came through their relay, the Scarab sized walker stumbling on badly damaged legs.

Tom saw the SIN, and he didn't bother staying around. Slinging his rifle behind him, Tom started running away from the camp. "What the hell is that thing?" Tom asked, panting as he run at full speed.

"Wrath class SIN. That alone is going to be worse than the army," Ronin explained hurriedly, taking the drone out of the area. "I'm picking up increased activity in the camp and I'm seeing heavy infantry patrols. Wait a minute, I've got him!"

"Got who?" Tom asked jumping over a log.

"The el-tee see! He's still alive! And Varak's with him too! They're five klicks north-west of your position!"

Tom shook his head. "No time. This op was a bust, I'm coming back to you." Tom didn't hear Ronin for a few minutes, and then heard a mech start up over the comm.

"_Tom, the moment you come back, prepare the place for an assault, and turn my room into triage,_" Ronin ordered.

"Yes sir," Tom panted as he broke out of the forest and saw the manor ahead of him. He also saw Ronin in the mech, putting the drone on his back and picking up what looked like some sort of giant SMG. Upon seeing Tom, the mech's "head" nodded, and sprinted off to the forest. Tom ran up to Rena who looked at him in worry.

"Rena, we need to get ready for wounded," Tom said breathlessly. Rena nodded and dragged Tom inside to deliver the orders to Hakuramon and Darkamon.

Ronin lumbered the forest, eyes scanning everything in his path. Minutes later, Ronin found them. He didn't particularly care that his CO was in a cave, guarded only by what was left of their Hog, but he was concerned the small group in the cave. Looking at him were Rahne, Varak, who looked tired as hell, Sora, and laying propped on a rock was Coyote, his armor scratched, burned, dented, and torn well beyond repair.

Ronin gingerly picked Coyote up, and with the others in the Hog, he led them to the manor. Hakuramon was standing by the door waiting for the wounded. Ronin walked up to her and gently placed his commander on her back. Nodding, Hakuramon dashed quickly back into the manor. Varak parked the beat up ol' Hog and dismounted with the others and very quickly dashed after Hakuramon.

Ronin got out of the mech and dashed inside, followed by Rahne and Sora. Unfortunately for him, both Hakuramon AND Varak told him, in no uncertain terms, that he, or anybody else for that matter, could NOT be in the room with Coyote while they worked.

Three hours later, everyone sans Hakuramon, Varak, and Darkamon were still waiting outside of Ronin's former room. Rahne and Ronin paced in the halls, their synchronization almost comical if not for the circumstances. Tom noted Rahne's gloves, and turned to Rena. "Rena, who is she?" he asked softly.

Rena looked back at him and whispered back to him in awe. "That's Rahne of the Faint Smile. I never thought I'd ever meet the mother of the Sun-Burst Clan, much less see her." Upon seeing Tom's blank look of non-understanding, Rena continued. "Rahne is said to have defeated a LadyDevimon by herself, and still in Champion Form. Oh, how I'd have loved to see her like that…and there are other stories about here and her clan, and most of those about the clan are not exactly what you would call polite."

Rahne heard Rena speak her name and looked over to her. Seeing her gloves, the older vixen stopped and walked over to her. "So," Rahne said, "What brings a Moon Fighter here? Last I heard, you all still had a stick up your ass about some prophesy. And who's he?" she asked, nodding towards Tom.

Rena sighed. "My Tamer here was injured and was staying here for recuperation. And this stupid emblem here," she pointed to the crest on top her glove, "Is because I was born on the eclipse, though I'm not far from home…" Rena trailed off gloomily.

Rahne looked over Tom. Looking back at Rena, she said, "He's a keeper."

Tom's face heated up, and Rena shook her head. "B-But we're not mates!" _Though I wish we could be_.

The door opened, and Varak walked out, his blood-shot eyes looking over all assembled. Seeing Tom, and recognizing a Spartan when he saw one, the dragon beckoned him over, something still cradled in his other hand. Tom walked over to the medic and asked, "Yes?"

Varak held out what Tom recognized as an **old** armor permutation for MJOLNIR Mk. V Powered Assault Armor. "Can you fix this?" Varak asked crabbily, his eyes twitching.

Tom looked at the old armor permutation. "I'm no tech, but I'll see what I can do," he said, taking the device from Varak. "No promises though."

"Well, do it fast," Varak snapped back. "Seven broken ribs, two contusions, a shattered femur, and internal bleeding from a pulse cannon are what's killing the CO!" Varak rushed back into the room, helping Hakuramon with who knew what.

Tom almost snorted. "Yeah, I'll do it fast. What does he expect, me to pull parts out of my ass and fix this?!" Tom looked at the device in his hand. It was old as hell, and caked in several layers of dirt, grime, blood, and cleaning fluid, and from Tom's lessons from the Battle of Reach, it was one of the earliest known Drop Shields that the UNSC used. Although, this seemed to be a bit more…careful in its construction.

Ronin was shocked. Varak **never** let anybody, Coyote included, touch his gear without several written forms and a court order for maintenance. Unless….

"Tom, MOVE!" Tom barely got out of the way as a shimmering bolt of indigo energy splashed across the Drop Shield. Before Tom's surprised eyes, the Drop Shield seemed to fix itself, the mixture of dirt and blood falling off like it was rain. "Give it a go now," Ronin ordered, looking at the door to his room.

Tom nodded dumbly and put the Drop Shield onto his armor and activated it. The shield burst into life, Tom's chest wound healing faster than it ever could naturally. Seconds later, the shield shut off. Tom took the device off and tossed it to Ronin, opened the door and yelled, "VARAK!" before tossing the device in.

About thirty seconds later, Varak came out, with Hakuramon and Darkamon following him. "He'll live," he stated simply before unceremoniously falling flat on his face asleep. Everyone turned to look at Ronin. The sniper sighed as he checked the dragon's vitals.

"Don't worry, he's just asleep," he said, lifting the medic up. "Rena, you're on watch duty. If my CO so much as twitches an eyelid, you tell either me or Hakuramon," he ordered, his role as Sergeant Major coming back full force. "Rahne, Tom, General Darkamon, and Ari, you're all on perimeter defense. Set up weapon stash points, and make sure you listen to Tom. Kit," he said gently. "You can go sleep in the next room if you want to, okay?" Sora nodded as Darkamon paled underneath his fur looking out the window.

"I must attend to something," Darkamon said hurriedly before vanishing. Ronin mentally shrugged.

"All those still present same orders. And Hakuramon-sama, I believe a good meal is in place," Ronin said, bowing his head to the much older vixen. The vixen nodded and went off to the kitchen. Ronin looked at everyone still standing there. "Let's move people, tails and elbows, we've got company!" In three seconds, everyone was gone. Ronin dragged Varak to a closet, opened it, and shoved the medic inside. "Sorry mate," he said as he closed the door on Varak's surprisingly heavy form.

_With Tom, Rahne, and Ari…_

The two acquaintances and legend busied themselves setting up little stockpiles of guns, ammunition, and bombs, with Tom's guidance of course. Ari, being the curious kid he was, was looking at Rahne oddly. "So," he said, "What's a Sun-burst doing so far away from home?"

Rahne sighed as she handed Tom a Toshigan assault rifle. "Ari, my home is with my mate," she said with a pained look on her face.

"Mate? Where is he?"

Rahne snorted. "He's the one in Ronin's room recovering from providing cover from a retreating village."

Ari looked at Rahne in disbelief. "Wait, you're mates with a human?!"

Rahne looked at Ari as if he was an idiot. "Yes. Your point?" she asked, her crystal blue eyes burrowing into Ari's.

Ari gulped. "Look, I don't have anything against humans, it's just that, well, a Digimon mating with a human is just, well, wrong!" he said quickly noticing Rahne's blank face. He watched in fear as Rahne lifted her paw. Closing his eyes, he expected to be punched through the wall. Instead, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, Ari saw that Rahne was looking at him sadly.

"One day," she said quietly, "You'll understand." Taking her hand, the vixen turned and left. Tom looked at Ari.

"Well, back in my dimension, inter-species relations do happen," Tom said as he placed the one Toshigan Assault Gun by the window.

Ari shook his head. "Tom, DNA and data don't mix. I mean, look at the Sun-burst Clan for crying out loud!" he burst out. "They have orange fur most of the time, their eye color is random, they don't even have some of the same abilities as a normal Renamon, and to top it all off, they have a reduced lifespan!"

Tom sighed. "I suppose," he said, looking out the window. _But what if your heart doesn't know or care?_

"Hey!"

Tom and Ari looked down and saw Sora standing there. Smiling, Tom kneeled down next to the Viximon. "Hey there, you remember me, don't you?"

Sora nodded. "You're the human Mommy made friends with before she left." Sora jumped onto Tom, snuggling up next to him, sniffling. "But you're nice like Kat and Uncle Gabe."

Tom hugged Sora. "Shh, it's okay, I know what it's like, I've lost my mom too," Tom said. Sora turned up to look at him.

"S-So did Kat. She said that the monsters killed her parents, but then she took one of their eyes out with this spork thing!" Sora said, almost bouncing off of Tom. "And when the monsters came back, she beat the living crap out of the same monster when they came to the village!"

Tom chuckled. "She must have been pretty cool to watch her!" Ari watched the Spartan with an odd look on his face. For the entire time that Ari knew Tom, the Spartan was fairly silent, usually emotionless, and kept looking at Ronin like he an enemy agent. Although in retrospect, Ronin wasn't any better. Hell, Tom smiled more than Ronin did, and Ronin was older by a few years at least.

Sora's ears drooped. "I-I didn't watch. Daddy,…he, he died, saving me…"

Tom's heart nearly broke hearing the little fox begin crying again. "Your daddy was very brave to do that," he said, holding the Viximon close to him. Dammit, if only he had stayed a little longer….

"Sora! _CoughCough_ Where are you, ya little ball of fluff?" All of them looked up to see a moderately bandaged human walking the hall, using an MA37 with a scope on it as a crutch. Sora saw the human and smiled.

"UNCLE GABE!" Sora yelled, jumping off of Tom and heading towards the human. Tom slowly rose and shifted back to his normal, cold exterior. The human turned to see Sora barreling down at him.

"Sora, no, I'm not supposed to be up yet!" he cried out, waving a hand to dissuade the charging Viximon. Sora skidded to a stop, and Tom had his first real look at Ronin's commander. He was about five foot six, maybe five foot seven at most. Brown hair was cropped close to his head, and the beginnings of a beard was highly visible on his face. Square framed glasses were perched in front of a pair of woody, hazel eyes that had a sheen of intelligence. He was lean, and in a lot of pain, as the smile he gave for Sora was obviously forced. He looked up and saw Tom standing there next to Ari. Hopping over to him, he had no problem seeing eye to eye with Tom. "Sierra 707?" he asked.

Tom growled. "That's what ONI called me. It's just Tom."

"Tom then," the human answered, extending his hand. "Lieutenant Colonel Monnot, First .R Battalion, Second Company XCO, service number 72119-94001-GM. I have a question."

Tom looked at Monnot's hand and took it. "Yes?"

Monnot, better known as Coyote, looked Tom dead in the eye and asked, "Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?"

Tom wasn't amused at the comment. "I make due," he said tensely. Coyote chuckled.

"I'm sorry, but it was too much to resist. Plus, whatever these herbs are, are making me see pink, yellow polka dotted elephants dancing around. Man, I do not like painkillers," Coyote said as he weaved back in forth, clutching his head. "So, how's Ronin been treating you?"

Tom shrugged. "Well, Fox is interesting to say the least. Helped me out of a tight situation."

Coyote nodded. "Yeah, he does that a lot. But otherwise, quiet guy," Coyote stated, walking back to his room, waving for Tom to follow. "So, judging by the fact that you're not running away from me and that Ronin is still alive, I can assume you're at least considering joining us?"

Tom nodded. "Yeah, well, I signed the datapad, so I guess I am one. At this point, I figured what the hell, I have nothing to really lose. Besides, asylum from ONI was too good of an offer," Tom replied.

"Great. But as of now, I am also your CO, understood?" Tom nodded. Coyote hissed as he grabbed his side in pain. "Don't," he said as Tom reached to help him. "I may not be a Spartan, but I sure as hell ain't no greenhorn either. Now, what happened after you took the Mongoose? And just because I can see the question on your face, the reason I know it was you was because you're the only one who needed fast transport at the time, and Ronin told me you had a partner with you."

Tom cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, after we took the Mongoose, I drove it west until for about half an hour when it ran out of gas. Rena and I hiked until it got dark and made camp. The next day, Rena suggested that we come here, and we were getting ready to sleep when Ronin apparently set off a flashbang. I made contact with Ronin, and after receiving a visual on an incoming enemy force, Rena and I sprinted here. We were halfway there when a sniper aimed for Rena. I-I jumped in front of her and took the round." Tom rubbed the spot on his chest where the round hit.

"At this time, Ronin came along, and ordered Rena to take me into the house while he provided cover. I blacked out then, but from Rena told me, there was a mortar strike that Ronin barely managed to avoid. He was then surrounded by what Ronin referred to as Toshigan Slaughtermasters and Lupine Moxelus Assassins. Ronin was taken and about to be executed when he just, Rena didn't know, snapped. From what Rena says, that out of the almost four hundred units out there, Ronin killed at least half of them, many with their own weapons. After he and Rena repelled the assault, Ronin patched up my wound, and spent the rest of the night policing weapons and ammo. The next morning, he went to switch out my bandages with some fresh herbs, and intercepted some assassins. That was when we met Ari, and I regained consciousness. Up until today, we've been mostly waiting for me to get better. And just a few hours ago, Ronin had me do a recon on the enemy base. I personally don't see how we can get in," Tom said, just as Ronin came sprinting in, barely stopping himself from crashing himself into Coyote.

"Sir, we have a problem!" Ronin said breathlessly, his face set in panic. That got both Coyote's and Tom's attention.

"Shit, the assault?" Tom asked. Ari popped his head out from a hallway.

"Worse Tom! It's Doamon!" he cried out. The look on both Coyote's and Tom's faces was the same. _Who the hell is Doamon?_

Tom, Coyote, and Ronin rushed to the nearest window and looked out. Coming down the road were a pair of Renamon, and they didn't look friendly. The first one was a Taomon wearing a purple robe; the other was a Renamon with black and grey fur, a pair of crimson gauntlets, and wore gold and dark purple robes. They both had the same I-am-better-than-you-and-you-had-better-remember-it look. And even from where they stood, the three could hear the old Renamon general _pleading_ with the Taomon.

"Brother, you are being hasty!" Darkamon said as he walked next to his brother. "The girl is not a kit anymore, she can make her own decisions!"

Darkamon's brother looked at him coldly. "She is my daughter Darkamon, and I know what is best for her. So take me to her _NOW!_"

"Shit, the possessive father," Coyote muttered, clicking the safety off his 'crutch.' "And it looks like he brought a dickhead with him."

Tom looked at Coyote oddly. "With all due respect sir, I'd prefer if we didn't kill anybody. There's already been enough bloodshed here."

Ronin spoke to Tom. "True, but I don't think that guy cares much. Worse comes to worse, we'll get Rena out of here first."

Tom swallowed, afraid that his emotions would show from that one bit of kindness from Ronin. "Sirs, Rena is my partner; if anything, I have to fight for her." The three soldiers walked over into the living room, where Rena, Rahne, Hakuramon, and Ari were. Seconds later, Darkamon, Doamon, and the other Renamon came in. Doamon instantly turned to his daughter.

"Luna, after so long, it is good to see you. We were worried. What has gotten into you, running away? You have responsibilities back home, you cannot be off gallivanting about! Your mate was-"

Rena interrupted her father sharply, her arms crossed and defiant. "**He** is not my mate, Father."

Doamon looked at Rena stunned. "What, are you talking about?! You have been arranged to be mated to Gravismon here! He was worried sick!"

Rena growled. "Worried? He was worried about his breeding sack! I will not take him as my mate, and no one is going to make me!"

Doamon growled at his offspring before he heard a voice speak up behind him, along with a cold metallic slide and click. "Hey, the girl said no. And trust me, we'll make sure that her request is carried out." The Renamon turned to look at Coyote who was now sitting on a window sill, gun casually tucked under his arm, and ready to fire, Tom standing next to him.

Doamon huffed arrogantly. "Humans," he said, spitting out the word almost as if it were a curse. "I thought I smelled something foul."

Tom growled as he walked up to Doamon. "I'm the reason she doesn't want to go with you," he boldly said to the much larger Taomon.

Doamon literally stared down at Tom. "Watch your tongue human. And what do you mean, 'I'm the reason?'"

Tom lifted up his Digivice as Rena came by his side. "Because I'm her Tamer." _And possibly more…I haven't figured that part out yet_.

Doamon looked as if he was going to spontaneously combust in rage. "A Tamer?!" Turning his attention back to Rena, he roared, "Daughter, this is unacceptable!"

Rena stood by Tom defiantly. "I will **not** mate with Gravismon. I do not love him, and I have other obligations with Tom at my side," she huffed angrily.

For the first time since he had come here, Gravismon spoke. "Phfft, he's weak," the dark furred Renamon said, looking at Tom as if he was just a bug. "As if he could protect her. Lord Doamon, I inquire that you let me fight this human for Luna."

Doamon smiled. Coyote and Tom decided at the same time that this guy, even if he was Rena's father, he needed to Foxtrot Oscar, was the worst kind of HMFIC, and that he needed to wipe that lecherous smile of his face. "That is not a bad idea," Doamon said. "Luna, if your Tamer can defeat Gravismon in a duel, then you can stay with…him. Otherwise, you _**will**_ come home with Gravismon as your mate."

Rena looked at her father in shock. "What?! Father, that's not fair!"

Tom touched Rena on the shoulder. "Alright, I'll fight him." Everyone who wasn't already shocked looked at Tom in, well, shock. Tom turned to Rena and said softly to her, "I won't let that asshole have you. If I have to die to make that happen, then it was worth it." Turning to Gravismon, Tom stated, "I'll fight you, and if I win, you leave her alone."

Gravismon smirked, chuckling darkly. "Very well, human. It will be an early demise for you, but the wager is…acceptable." He eyed Rena greedily and shifted his stance, ready to fight.

Doamon smiled darkly as he looked at Rena. "We will make an example of you human. Now, let the fight…"

"That is enough Doamon! At least give the boy a night to prepare himself!" Everyone turned to see a Kyuubimon standing in the doorway. Doamon snarled and beckoned for Gravismon to follow him. The two of them left without another word as Rena rushed over to the Kyuubimon happily.

"Mother!" she cried out, hugging the giant fox around the neck. The Kyuubimon did her best to nuzzle her daughter.

"My Luna, I've missed you so much," she said. Rena nodded her head.

"I'm sorry, but I had to get away from him." She didn't need to say who it was she needed to get away from.

Looking up from her daughter, the Kyuubimon introduced herself. "I am Yima of the Moon-fighters Clan. I hope that my mate wasn't that much of an idiot."

Rahne picked that moment to speak. "Not so much an idiot as he was an ass. Why does he hate humans anyway?"

Yima shook her head. "It is his pride. While he isn't normally so bitter, the power he now has has blinded him to the fact that others do not share his views…myself included. Although, may I ask as to who you are?"

Rahne shrugged. "I am Rahne of the Sunburst Clan. I asked about your mate, as I am concerned of the safety of mine."

"He won't harm them, not directly in any case. My mate…he thinks that humans are weak, both in terms of strength of body and spirit." Yima looked at Tom. "What you did, standing up for my daughter, was a very brave thing indeed. But Gravismon will do his best to humiliate you before he defeats you, you know that?"

Tom looked at Yima evenly. "I know ma'am. But leaving Rena with that guy is worse than dying at this point. She's the only friend I have at this point."

Yima bowed her head in respect to Tom. "I understand. Please, if you would all like to join me at my home; I'd like to make up for my mate's rudeness." Seeing the look of alarm on Coyote and Tom's faces, she added, "My mate will be out helping Gravismon prepare for tomorrow."

Ronin took that moment to throw his two cents in. "That would be fabulous ma'am," he said politely. "Let me retrieve my team's medical professional, and I'll go procure us transport." Ronin went off to get Varak, humming to himself. Coyote looked at his sergeant in shock. Ronin was _humming_? This had to be a sign of the apocalypse.

Yima shook her head at the Voxin. "There is no need for a transport; my home is not that far," she said, watching as Ronin got Varak out of the closet. Tom looked at his new sergeant oddly, but then decided not to speak; considering the almost absurd way that he had seen the Dimensional RIFT Recon just toss ONI's mission away like trash, he really should have seen this coming.

Tom felt something warm grab his arm and stay there. Looking over, he saw Rena looking at him with her shining emerald eyes. And Tom could see in those eyes that she didn't want to let go. Normally, Tom would have some (attempted) witty remark, but for once, he didn't know what to say. This kind of behavior from Rena was, unusual, to say the least.

After Ronin grabbed the still sleeping medic, Yima led them out of the manor and off to her home. Coyote was stubbornly walking on his own, claiming that "I can't let the Spartan be the only bad-ass!" Rahne held Sora, Ronin was dragging Varak along, a spare Toshigan SMG in his hand just in case. Yima led them to her home, an even larger Japanese style manor than the one that Darkamon had. Entering the manor, Tom looked around in amazement. "Rena," he said breathelessly, "Your home is beautiful." And indeed it was, with a rock garden, small grove of cherry trees, and a tranquil atmosphere. Rena blushed lightly under her fur.

"Thank you Tom, but I still prefer the forest," she said, smiling.

Coyote shrugged with his other arm. "Just give me bedroll with Rahne and I'm happy," he said, earning a look of amazement from Yima.

"You two are mates?" she asked with a slight smile.

Coyote nodded as Rahne answered. "Yes, he gave me my first child and a clan I can be proud of," she said, gazing sideways at Coyote who was currently looking at the small shrine in the garden.

Yima smiled as Rena came upon the door. "I see. You look happy to be with each other."

Coyote grimaced. "Yeah, well, four Real World years and roughly a thousand years here tends to make reunions rather teary," he said bitterly, looking to the sky this time.

The matriarch of the Moon Fighters looked at the two sadly. "I am sorry to hear that," she said, just as Rena opened the door.

As soon as the young vixen stepped into the living room, she was jumped by what Tom first thought to be a pair of grey and yellow cotton balls. Only, cotton balls didn't have faces, and they weren't capable of making Rena smile like that. "Big sister, you're home!" they cried out.

As the rest of the group walked in, Ronin turned to Coyote. "Now that sir," he said, dumping Varak unceremoniously onto the ground, "Is cute."

Coyote looked at the sniper. "Ronin, when did you start taking drugs?" he asked.

Ronin shrugged. "I don't sir."

Coyote looked doubtful. "Are you sure? Because the Ronin I know would never say that anything is cute, let alone smile," Coyote said.

Ronin shrugged as he put the SMG by the door, along with his blades, and his TMD. "People change sir," he replied simply.

A few feet away, Tom chuckled as he saw the two Viximon going all over Rena. "Looks like they missed you Rena," he said, a faint hint of a smile on his face.

Rena laughed as she got up, holding up her siblings. "Yeah, I missed them too," she said. Lifting up one ball of fluff, Rena said "This is Ruckus, and this adorable little one," Rena went one nuzzling the other, "Is Hope."

The Twins' attention shifted over to Tom. "Wow," whispered Ruckus, "Are you a human?"

Tom nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm a human. Since I'm Rena's friend, can I be your friends too?"

The Twins looked up at Tom starry eyed as Rena said to them, "He's also my Tamer you two."

Coyote shrugged in pain as he left his MA37 by the door and sat down next to Rahne. Sora was still in Rahne's arms, and Yima was certainly curious about the little kit. Walking over to them, Yima crouched down to Sora's level. "And what is your name little one?" she asked softly.

"I'm Sora," replied the kit shyly, his blue eyes looking back at Yima.

Yima smiled kindly. "Sora; that's a very nice name."

"Thank you ma'am."

Yima nodded and looked up to Rahne sadly. "He's not your kit by blood, is he?"

Rahne shook her head as Coyote answered. "She was killed shortly before Rahne was awakened. I…I was there." Coyote grimaced at the memory. "It wasn't a good day. Next day was even worse."

Meanwhile, Rena said to her siblings, "Hey, why don't you say hi to Tom as well?" The two Viximon perked and damn near _flew_ into Tom, sending him toppling over, laughing. Hearing a groan, they all turned to look at Varak, who was just now regaining consciousness. Apparently, the cries of the kits had woken him up, and as the dragon woke up, he was slightly confused. He went to sleep on one floor and woke up on another. Looking around, he saw Coyote sitting by his mate, and he went nuts.

"SIR, WHAT IN BAHAMUT'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled, standing ramrod straight in an instant. All present looked at Varak as he continued ranting. "You are in serious condition, and I-"

"Varakäs'aüldan, calm down," Coyote said. Varak shut up instantly. "You were tired, alright? The Drop Shield did wonders, and don't worry, a few more treatments will do wonders. We're gonna have dinner here soon, so _try_ to relax?" Coyote looked over to Yima. "Yima-sama, may I inquire as where the dining room is? I don't want to be lost trying to find the food," he asked jokingly.

Yima smiled. "Of course," she said. She looked over at Rahne, who nodded. Yima then proceeded to grab Coyote by the back of his armor and took his to the dining room, and plopped him down on one of the many pillows surrounding the table. "Here we are," she said, the laughter that she didn't want coming out clear in her voice. Coyote was not amused for about two seconds. Then he started laughing, then crying as the laughing began hurting his lungs.

Tom looked up and saw Sora sitting in Rahne's arms. Looking to Ruckus and Hope, he asked, "Hey guys, I think I know someone who might want to play with you."

The twins looked at him with glee. "Who?" they both asked.

Tom pointed to Sora. "His name is Sora," he said, and the moment the words left his mouth, the two of them rushed over to Sora.

"Hey Sora," Ruckus said, looking up at Sora. Hope continued by asking, "Do you want to play?"

Sora's ears perked up. "S-Sure," he said, jumping out of Rahne's arms and in seconds, was playing tag with the twins. Rena then helped Tom get up from the floor, smiling.

"You know Tom, you're really good with kids," she said.

Tom looked at her in surprise. "Really?" he asked. Rena nodded, as did Ronin.

"Yeah, much better than the el-tee see was with his first two siblings," Ronin added as he watched the Viximon play with the others. Rena sighed.

"One day, I wish to have kits of my own," she said quietly. Her mind wandered over to Tom, who was still watching Sora, Ruckus, and Hope play around the house. _He'd make a great father…but would it be right?_

Ronin walked over to Rena while admiring the various artifacts in the house. "Well," he said, "Considering the case of my commander and his mate, I'm pretty sure that's a possibility for you two."

Rena then thought of the fight Tom would have tomorrow, and that sank her heart like a metaphorical battleship. She didn't want to lose him…not after that close call the other day.

"Something wrong Rena?" Ronin asked as he looked at her, head tilted.

Rena sighed and looked at Ronin. "I'm about Tom, that's all," she said.

"And more I reckon, if your face is anything to go by," replied the sniper as he crossed his arms.

"I don't know," Rena admitted, "It's just that, I don't know, I've been having these really weird feelings about Tom lately, and I don't know what they are."

Ronin chuckled and nodded. "You feel as though your soul isn't complete without him?"

Rena nodded. "And I feel a connection with him, and not just as partner and Tamer, but I don't-" Rena was shut up by Ronin putting an arm around her shoulders, the sniper trying to resist laughing.

"Rena, you are in effin' love with possibly the best person in this universe right now," Ronin explained. "And waiting to tell him is going to be the worst regret of your life."

Rena looked at Ronin in fear. "But what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Ronin looked at Rena dead in the eye. "Rena, I have a minor in psychology; Tom will do anything short of selling his soul to ONI because he loves you," Ronin said with a faint smile.

Rena shrugged hesitantly. "But the fight tomorrow…Gravismon's too strong."

Ronin snorted in derision. "Rena, Tom will take the pole out of Gravis' ass and beat him to death with it. And Tom is fighting for you as a person Rena; that alone makes him win," he said softly, taking the photo he always carried out of his pocket and looking at it.

Rena had a quick glimpse of a little Voxin girl before she looked over at Tom. She had to do it tonight…

"Do it now, before it's too late."

Rena nodded and went towards Tom. Reaching him, she turned his head towards her and said, "Tom, I need to tell you something."


	8. Chapter 8

**Dinner**

Rena took Tom to the top of a small hill on her family's land, the one spot she could always go to so that she could escape the daily machinations of life. Sitting down under a peach tree, the two of them sat down and watched the sunset, and the vixen next to the Spartan was growing more and more skittish by the second. Noticing her discomfort, Tom put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey," Tom said softly. "What's wrong? If it's about the fight tomorrow, I won't lose. I care for you too much for that."

Rena shook her head. "No Tom, it's not that, well, it is, but not really and well, I…" Rena said in a rush. The young Renamon took a deep breathe to calm her fraying nerves. Looking back up, she stared deep into Tom's cerulean eyes. "Tom, I love you!" she admitted, the insides of her ears burning. "Ever since we met, I felt like I had this connection with you! Over time, we became friends, and then it just…Tom, I don't want to see you as just my Tamer anymore!" Rena had closely been inching closer to Tom as she was talking, and now, she was practically attached to him at the hip. "I…I want to be your mate, and to hell with what everyone says about it. **You** are the most wonderful person that I have ever met in my life, and I wouldn't want anyone else by my side other than you."

Tom was stunned. Rena felt the same way he did? Well, now that he knew he wasn't alone in having butterflies in his stomach, Tom now had no issues with admitting his own feelings. "You know Rena," he said slowly, "It's kinda funny you said that, cause well, I um…" Tom scratched the back of his head. "I kinda love you too."

There was a brief silence before Rena threw Tom down onto the ground, her muzzle less than an inch from Tom's face. "Do you really mean it?" Rena asked softly. Tom responded by pulling her head down, and when their lips met, he kissed her. It was a little awkward, what with their entirely different shaped mouths, but then the next kiss, well, _that_ was certainly one for the 'Most Perfect Kiss in the World' series of books. The two of them parted, panting. Tom looked into Rena's eyes, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked huskily. Rena smiled, and for the next few minutes, the two of them engaged in a heated make out session, and when Ronin looked out the window to see the two of them tangled in each other's limbs, well, the Voxin sniper smiled and turned away to the expectant views of the others. Coyote glanced at the window, eyebrow raised. Ronin simply smiled knowingly and pulled the shade shut. Walking over to Ari, the sniper held out his hand. With a roll of his eyes, Ari pulled out a single, small bag of gold coins and dropped it in his hand.

When the two new lovebirds entered the house minutes later, both Rena and Tom looked at the room full of quiet adults; and all of them could barely hold in their smiles of pride, relief, and in Coyote's case, knowing of what was soon to happen. Rahne rolled her eyes at her mate's grin. "Gabe, they aren't like us," she said. Coyote shrugged as he leaned in close to Rahne.

"Yeah, well, he isn't used to your species…_stamina_," he whispered into her ear. Rahne gently socked him in the shoulder as Yima stood up.

Looking sadly at the look on her daughter's face, Yima stated regally, "I have received word on tomorrow's match." Tom, Ronin, Coyote, Varak, Rahne, Ari, and Rena all focused their attention on the Kyuubimon matron. Yima sighed. "They have forbidden the use of your projectile weapons, as well as your armor," she said sadly. Both Coyote and Ronin looked at each other, the 'Oh SHIT!' expression clear on their faces.

Rena had no problem voicing her opinion. "Mother, that's not fair!" she shouted out, her fangs bared. Even Coyote was pissed.

"Yeah, even for a Spartan!" he said. Looking over to Tom, he added, "No offense."

Tom shrugged. "None taken. So, I'm left to fight in hand to hand. Heh, compared to training with Zach, this guy will be a piece of cake," he said. Tom turned back to Yima. "I won't lose to that asshole."

Yima nodded, a small smile on her face. Without any warning, Coyote and Sora's stomachs rumbled. And the look on both of their faces was priceless. To put more humorous insult to injury, Ronin actually smirked and chuckled warmly. "Hungry much sir?" he asked.

Coyote glared at the Voxin, only mildly amused at the comment. "Yeah, laugh it up, we'll see if you get any more of my mom's spaghetti after this op is over with," he threatened. Ronin's cheer flew out the window at the mention of the spaghetti made by Colonel Monnot. That meal was simply _divine_.

Yima chuckled. "Very well then, I shall make preparations for dinner." Turning to Rahne, the Kyuubimon beckoned with her one of her tails to follow the much older Digimon. Ronin decided to follow, for the simple reason of that he actually enjoyed cooking. The trio entered the kitchen, and Yima turned to look at Ronin and Rahne. "I've heard of a style of human food called 'Polynesian,' but I don't have any idea what that entails. So, if either of you two know, please, tell me."

Ronin smiled and shook with surpressed laughter. "Lady Yima," Ronin said, "My CO has a Filipino party at his house every other week. If you didn't know how to cook the food before, you sure as hell will learn how to then." Ronin cracked his neck, and then washed his hands. "Rahne, I want you in charge of veggies. Ma'am, you can get the meat prep it, and I'll guide you through everything else." For the next half hour, Ronin was a chef, guiding the pair through the cooking of Kalua pig, lumpia, and posette. When the casual Pacific Islander meal was laid out, Coyote simply could not stop drooling.

Tom looked at the meal in wonder. "Wow," he said, stunned. "This looks amazing!"

"Why thank you," Ronin responded as he sat down. "Those two had help." Coyote chuckled. Yima herself chuckled a bit at Ronin's antics before gesturing to the food.

"Maiden of Light, Protector of all," she said solemnly. The others grew quiet in respect. "We ask that you bless this food, so that we may face the coming day with vigor. We humbly ask that you protect Tom in his fight tomorrow, and that my daughter be happy. In your gracious name, we all pray." Yima ended the blessing, only to see Coyote's head hunched over, hands clasped tightly in prayer. They all watched as Coyote's finger nails dug into his own skin, his face in deep concentration. Rahne touched her mate, snapping him out of state of mind. The human looked flustered, the smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said. Tom and Rena looked at each other and scooted closer to each other. The group soon began to eat the meal before them. Ten minutes later, after a good amount of food was eaten, and compliments given to the chef and cooks, that Yima asked a question that darkened the mood at the table. "Coyote, what happened for you to receive your injuries?" Coyote stopped, lumpia almost in his mouth. Sighing, he took a drink of water. Varak saw the look and took the kits out of the room. They didn't need to hear what happened, and Sora didn't need to relive those memories. Not so soon.

Coyote looked at everyone at the table and sighed. "We…we were attacked, second day here. It all started roughly right after Ronin left to go after Tom….."


	9. Chapter 9

_Days Ago…._

Kat sat glumly in the back of the APC, looking at a small photo in her hands. It was her, a few years back in her former hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, about three months before it was razed to the ground by the Toshigan Empire. Her parents behind her, younger sister in front, older sister off to the side, and her boyfriend hugging her. God, she missed them so much.

"What's wrong?" Kat looked down to see Sora, the tiny orphaned Viximon from yesterday looking up at her. Kat sighed heavily.

"I'm just thinking little guy," she said, head hung down and eyes closed. Moments later, she felt Sora nudge her leg. And then, seconds later, she felt the fox kit climb up her leg and settle onto her lap.

"About what?" Sora asked. Kat opened an eye. For a child who had just lost his closest family yesterday, he sure was quite talkative.

"About when I lost my parents to the big scary monsters," Kat answered, a solitary tear forming at the edge of her eye. Sora tilted his head curiously, his sadly drooped ears making his somewhat adorable, even in this grim situation.

"What happened?" There was the question that Kat had been dreading. But, seeing as not telling how much it affected her got her into trouble, and that she wasn't going to meet Varak for another hour, the young private figured that she might as well talk.

"Well, Sora, you see, when the monsters attacked, I was back home, in my dimension…." And just like that, a common grief united the human and Digimon, and helped ease their respective pains.

[][][]

Coyote sat down next to Rahne, holding her hand gently. Varak had come by earlier and examined her, and after he had done some tests, declared her physically fine, and just a bit shaken up emotionally. But right now, he was looking at the vixen who stole his heart four of his years ago. The assault from yesterday had taken out a lot of their munitions, so now, Coyote had to call in an order for more ordinance. And with the Tactical Rift Gate System, not to mention the entire network of Recon facilities, under total lockdown, that left only one other supplier. All Coyote needed was a couple of minutes away from Rahne, who was sleeping, her lithe form twitching.

Taking a nearby blanket, Coyote draped it over his mate, gently stroking her ear as he got up. Rahne stirred briefly, and then clutched the blanket closer to her. Coyote smiled down at her as he went outside in his bodysuit's pants and the standard issue olive drab U.S. Army shirt. Stepping outside, he took out his cell phone. Sliding it open, he hit a button and waited.

Melissa Arial Monnot was working on the new Mk. IV Series of Reflex Armor when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Putting down the spork she was using, the young woman looked at the caller ID and flipped open her phone. "Hey big bro, what's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Hi Mel, listen, I need your help," came the response from Coyote several universes and more than a few tangent timelines away. Melissa smirked in surprise.

"You? Needing help? That's new. So, what do you guys need this time?" she asked, sitting down atop an unfinished assault exoskeleton.

"Four crates of 5.56x45mm ammo, one in Wave, one Plasma, and the other two SAPHE; same in caseless, a long range radio receiver, and if it's possible, a portable shield generator."

Melissa's jaw dropped. "Holy shit Gabe, what the hell are you doing, storming a beach? We can't just airlift this shit to you, we need to talk with CENT-"

"CENTCOM's in lockdown," Coyote interrupted bluntly. "So is every other facility until we can find out who compromised us. Which means, we need Big Mama."

Melissa sighed. "I'll see what I can do. But I hope you know that Mom isn't going to be happy that you're doing this," she said. She heard her older brother snort over the phone.

"Sis, tell me something I don't know." With that, Coyote hung up. Melissa looked down at her phone. If it was really that bad, then the ammo wasn't the only thing that was going to be sent. And seeing as his call came from the Digital World, Melissa called up an old friend of her brother's and asked him to make a certain plasmid.

An hour later, the massive Rift Generator flashed, sending ordinance to a small fire team of .

[][][]

Coyote was sitting on the Hog, eating an MRE and listening to Kat tell Sora pretty much her entire life story when the large blue rift from Big Mama came into being. When it vanished, there in a pile were the eight crates of ammo he requested…along with the radio receiver, the shield generator, several Browning M2HB machine guns, with five boxes of four hundred fifty caliber rounds each, the same amount of Mk. 19 Grenade Launchers, and a medical case. He, Kat, Varak, and Mother, the latter two having just gotten there, approached the pile in a mixture of shock and awe. Curious, Coyote opened up the medical case to find a small multiuse syringe filled with an electric blue fluid, and with a sticky note attached to it. Taking the note, the lieutenant colonel looked over it quickly.

"_If __**she's**__ there, use it to show her that it is you. Otherwise, use sparingly. Works for eight hours. _

"_Signed, Dr. Freeman _{A/N: Whose first name is **not** Gordon}_ and your little sis, Mel"_

Coyote was shocked, to say the least. It was that plasmid, from nearly four years ago, back in his hands. Granted, it wouldn't last that long this time, but still. Knowing that she was still out cold, Coyote turned to Varak. "Varak, I want you, Gym, and Kat to set up that receiver, see if we can't pick up any signals from Zack. He can't possibly operate alone, not when the Toshigan are involved. Mother, I want you to start setting up MG nests, see where they would do the most good. Move out."

A chorus of affirmatives replied back to Coyote, and as he walked back to the building where Rahne lay resting, he injected the plasmid into his arm.

[][][]

Rahne woke up to a rather familiar scent. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a tan furred Renamon in an olive drab shirt that simply said '**ARMY**' on the front, and was looking at her with an amused expression. Shaking off sleep, the vixen slowly sat up from the bed. "Gabe? Please tell me that I'm not going crazy," Rahne said, holding her stomach as it reminded her that it needed to be fed.

Coyote chuckled. "Rahne, we're all crazy. Me more so than you," he said. "Besides, who else would be dumb enough to actually want to just straight up talk to Renamon when she's trying to kill you, or, better yet, use a discarded bra as a means of distracting her long enough for us to get away?"

That sealed it for Rahne. This was definitely Gabe, and the fact that she still remembered Renamon's look of disbelief, and her Tamer's look of total indignation were a bonus. Just one issue to clear up….

"Gabe, which are you? Are you really a human, or are you a Renamon?" she asked as her mate handed her a canteen of water.

Coyote shrugged. "Does it really matter? I'm still me in either form, so you'll still have good ol' lovable me," he said cheekily. "Granted, I'll only be like this for a while, but-"

"Wait, what do you mean, only for a while?" Rahne asked forcefully. Gabe's ears swung back, in obvious discomfort.

"Well, you see, I'm only a Renamon when I take a um, elixir to change me into one. This version of it lasts only for about eight hours, and I can only transform again about four more times," Coyote explained. He then looked deep into Rahne's own sapphire eyes with his darkened emerald ones. "And in those eight hours, I want to make it up to you. You know, for not being there when you needed me."

Rahne smiled coyly. "Well then, my mate," she began, "You owe me quite a bit. First is breakfast." The corner of Coyote's lips twitched upward. He leaned over to Rahne and nuzzled the crook of her neck, sending the vixen into a giggle.

"Of course,…my queen of Shinjuku."

[][][]

Firefist was in the dining hall, ladling out a morning stew when he saw Rahne and another Renamon come up to the pot. "Lady Rahne, how are you doing this morning?" he asked. "And who in the Sovereign's names is **he**?" he added, pointing the ladle at Coyote. This would have struck Coyote as funny if weren't for the fact that A), Firefist was an Ultimate level Digimon, and B), said Taomon had just suffered from an attack on his village.

Rahne smiled sweetly at Firefist, arm draped on Coyote's shoulders. "Why Firetail, this is the man who introduced himself to you yesterday I believe. He's also my mate," she explained, watching as the use of the Taomon's childhood name made the Digimon turn red under his fur. Coyote straightened up. Comparatively speaking, this was _far_ worse than the time he was inspected by his prom date's parents.

"Listen, Elder Firefist, we just need some food to start the day," Coyote said hurridly. Leaning in close to Firefist, he added quietly, "Make it the best please. By this time tomorrow, the walls will be repaired, I promise." Firefist nodded and pointed them to an open table.

The two sat at the table, and after five minutes of waiting, they saw Sora walking around dejectedly, not really talking with anyone. Without a single word, Rahne went over to the little Viximon and scooped him up into her arms. She took him over to the table just as the food was delivered. It wasn't much, but the collection of vegetables, fruits, and the bread next to it did look pretty damn good to an individual who'd been stuck in a time bubble for almost a thousand years.

Coyote noticed the copper colored ball of fur in his mate's arms as Rahne sat down. "Rahne, I don't know what you're thinking, but if it involves Sora, then I'm going to be forced to say that I can't take him. The clan forbade it, saying that a human would be a 'horrendous detriment to his development and yearning of clan traditions,'" Coyote said, throwing in some air quotations for good measure. Rahne looked at Coyote in annoyance as she fed Sora some of her soup.

"Gabe, while you can't take him, as _the_ head of the clan, I can easily overrule those old prudes and take Sora with me back to your dimension," Rahne said as Sora began eating in earnest. "And yes, you will take me back with you." Coyote nodded as he handed her a cup of juice. After a quick prayer, Coyote dug into his food, his mate, and distant descendant doing their best to outdo him.

[][][]

_10 Miles Away…._

Zack 667 looked over the assembled band of mercs and alien soldiers now under his command. From his verse, he would soon have the use of an entire battalion of Moxelus Assassins, the so called 'elite' of the Lupine military; them, and a company of berserkers, heavy infantry with pulse cannons grafted into their arms. The reason for them coming was that Zack had received word from a certain General Malic that they had managed to capture a device similar to the one that Tom had used to come here. They had simply gotten it from the nearest Dimensional RIFT Recon outpost, slaughtered everyone present, and took residence there. Suddenly, a blue rift formed in the air, and out came a company of the assassins. Their leader walked up to Zack and saluted. "General Zacaus, Wolfpack Company reporting in," he said, his voice much more guttural than one would expect.

Zack smiled. "Splendid," he said coldly. "Soon the real fun can begin. I want you to start setting up camp here, and make the stupid ingrates over there do some work," he ordered, pointing at the group of Chronoinsurgents behind him. They were some sort of Neo-Fascist nutjobs with outdated power armor, but their weaponry was surprising better than what they generally brought with them. The Lupine assassin smiled ferally and started ordering his men around. A shadow peeled off the darkness made by a nearby tree, revealing an eight foot tall wraith-like being.

"I still say we should attack them now, while they are still weak," the Reaver said. Zach rolled his eyes.

"Mortis, they won't do jack shit. They're too _noble_ to even think about abandoning these freaks to pick up the mess. No, by the time they move out, Tommie Boy will be dead, and I'll be out of this shithole," Zach replied hotly. Mortis' red eyes glared at the Spartan.

"Oh? And what of the sniper?"

Zach looked at Mortis oddly. "The sniper," Mortis said, continuing. "That left nearly two hours ago, heading the same way our scouts went, and in a much straighter path than they are."

Zach shook his head. "Then the fucker leads us to the bastard, and after I kill him, the fox freak is next."

A nearby Toshigan grunt looked up at the mention of Ronin and started panicking. Zach glared at the alien, annoyed at its constant yammering. "The fuck is it saying?" he asked a nearby Slaughter-Master.

The Slaughter-Master in question looked queasy as he answered. "He says, Lord Zacaus," the senior ranking alien translated, "That we are fools to fight the Pale Angel of San Madrid. Not to mention his master, the Demon of the Iron Wastes." At this, most of the Toshigan in the area did some weird ritual of warding off evil.

Zach barked in laughter. "Whatever. Just get them ready for conquering."

[][][]

Coyote and Rahne were walking along the edge of the village's wall when Varak approached them. Coyote looked at the dragon in concern. "What is it Varak?" Coyote asked. Varak shook his head and sighed.

"Well sir, we've isolated a signal, but we don't know who's talking," Varak responded, pointing back to where the Warthog was still parked. Coyote face-palmed.

"Varak, hook Gym up and a translator program," Coyote ordered slowly, glaring at the almost nine hundred and fifty year old dragon with a single eye. Rahne was curious on how her mate, a twenty-seven year old human, was able to command a nearly one thousand year old dragon.

"Yessir," Varak said quickly, turning around. Coyote looked back to his mate annoyed.

"Sorry about that," Coyote said apologetically. "Responsibilities of command and all." Rahne smiled softly.

"I know. I helped start this village," she said, gently hugging Coyote. "Although, there is one thing that you might need to do," she added softly. Coyote looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

Rahne smiled coyly. "What do you think?" she said huskily. Coyote's eyes widened as he was dragged back to the house where Rahne woke up. For the next three hours, he was not going to be leaving that building!

[][][]

Varak sat at the Hog, listening intently to the enemy's radio chatter. He currently had Gym hooked up to the radio to serve as a translator, but alas, nothing was coming up. And that made Varak furious. The dragon knew that every second wasted trying to find out what they were saying was a second that the other guy had to find a way to kill them. Although, he did hear references to a 'Zacaus' and a 'Malik.'

Just then, Pvt. Desserich walked up to the Hog, holding Sora in her arms. Looking at the radio, she asked, "Sir? Is there something wrong?"

Varak shook his head. "Oh no, nothing at all," he said sarcastically. "Not unless you're a code breaker who has no idea in the Abyss what the code is!" Kat looked at the headphones.

"Would you mind if I tried sir?"

In response, Varak handed her the headphones. Handing Sora over to Gym, Kat put the headphones on and listened. She didn't recognize the words at first, but then it all came back to her. Her foreign language requirement in high school, the offer for a xenolinguistics course….

"Sir, I think we're dealing with Lupine Special Forces," Kat sat as she slid one of the speakers off her head.

Varak and Gym both had expressions of utter bewilderment on their faces…well, Gym might have had a look of shock, if he even had a face. "Y-you can understand this?" Varak asked, his eyelid twitching erratically.

Kat nodded. "Yessir, three years xenolinguistics in high school sir, I studied Voxin. Lupine and Voxin are phonetically similar enough to where I can translate pretty much most of their chatter sir," Kat explained. "Why do you ask?"

Varak suddenly respected the young private in front of him far more than his old bones would like to admit. "Can you translate as they're speaking?" he asked. Kat nodded. Varak quickly handed her a datapad and a stylus. In a flash, the pink haired girl was scribbling the translated words down, her hand a blur as she listened intently. Within a minute, she handed the pad back to Varak. Looking over it, he didn't like what he saw.

A battalion of assassins, a company of berserkers, some Covenant ground vehicles, and a large Chronoinsurgent cell. And then there was the mention of Reavers, not that Varak had any damn clue what they were. They were all coming in…through a Recon TacRift Pad that had been taken during the lockdown?! The dragon felt his gut churn; something was about to happen, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Turning to Gym, Varak said, "Gym, trace the source of the signal and head to it. Do a quick recon, and get back quick. Do not engage unless fired upon; if you have a choice, go silent as much as possible." The massive robot nodded and loped away. Varak groaned. When his CO got done being mauled by his mate, he was not going to like the news he was about to get.

[][][]

Gym crept up silently to where the signal was coming from. It was still only about a mile away, but it was a mile that Gym could easily make. Although, the unsuspecting enemy in front of him had to go. So, with stealth rather surprising for a nine foot tall, half ton robot, he quickly grabbed the Lupine soldier's head and twisted, the muted _snap_ barely audible. Gym looked around to see if the coast was clear, and then put the soldier down on a tree, making little adjustments to make it look like he was asleep. The bot proceeded onward, making the dead wolf number seven on his current kill count for the recon.

Five minutes later, Gym saw a pair of Lupine soldiers walking away from him, chatting in their native tongue. One was armed with what looked like an SMG, the other, a DMR. Gym switched on his translator, now set for Voxin, and listened to them.

SMG huffed in annoyance. [Did they really need to waste our time looking for some dumb kid? Hell, I'd rather be back home with my mate right now, enjoying my leave!] DMR shook his head at the insolence of his comrade.

[Why Remus, do you have no sense of faith?] DMR asked. [Once we handle this weakling Spartan, and eliminate these, what were they, oh yes, , Lord Zacaus will call in the rest of the force so that we can free the Great Ones hidden in this world!]

SMG glared at the other wolf. [Romulus, if there was this small a force, then why bother with us? We can easily wipe them out with a full invasion force! I'm trained to fight, not believe some damn old wives tale!]

DMR looked at his friend. [Remus, the idiot Toshigan saw that this 'Demon of the Iron Wastes' is here too. Even the elites were shaking in fear when the name was mentioned. And then they were afraid of this 'Pale Angel of San Madrid.' Fools.]

SMG perked up to that last comment. [Weird, I lost a good friend about twenty years ago to slavers heading to San Madrid. Granted, she was a Voxin, but she was a nice vixen! I wonder what happened to her?]

DMR held up his hand. [Comrade, there's something wrong here.]

SMG rolled his eyes. [The only thing wrong here is your misplaced faith. Now let's go, we have better things to do than argue about religion.] They both shut up and continued walking off. Gym pondered what the two had said. So there was indeed a larger force coming in, and they were coming to kill the Spartan and if need be, eliminate Gym's teammates. And they also wanted to free some individuals who Gym could pretty well assume were supposed to _stay_ imprisoned. So, technically, Gym had done his duty. But, what if he did a little…direct interference? That brought a nonexistent smile to the robot's also nonexistent face. So, Gym silently followed the two soldiers, keeping a good distance between him and them.

Remus didn't let his partner know that a giant robot was following them. Granted, the grizzled old wolf had no real love for most things, but the Moxelus weren't one of them. Hell, Remus would have loved to stay in regular infantry, but _no_, he had to be transferred over to the assassin's branch. And he was nearing retirement, and Remus heard a _very_ enticing rumor that the Dimensional Rift Recon accepted almost anyone, so long as they spent a while under scrutiny. So, Remus let the robot follow them, in hopes that he could slip away and join the other side of the fence.

[][][]

At above five in the afternoon local time, Gym came across the enemy camp. Granted, it was now only a half mile away, but Gym stopped anyway. If the troops he had been following were SpecOps troops, then how had they not seen him? Were they that bad? Or did they just not care that an assault bot was following them? Gym shook his head. His circuit boards would fry if he kept on thinking about the why in this case. So instead, the robot activated his little used optic displacement drive that Ronin had installed nearly a year ago and crept towards the base.

Gym managed to go about ten steps when he bumped into a Lupine Berserker. The massive wolf looked around bewildered, unsure as to what in the name of the Great Alpha would be dumb enough to intentionally bump into a Berserker. Gym's central battery pack had a momentary power spike. Here was something that probably could take him out relatively easy, and it was about to find him. So, Gym did the wise thing. He grabbed the berserker by the face, and drove his other fist through its chest, taking out several internal organs and part of the wolf's spine. Now the flow of data was clocking Gym's processors to the max as he headed _**towards**_ the enemy camp.

They didn't have a clue for the first few seconds as Gym came barreling down from the woods. In those few seconds however, Gym had 1) fired a plasma round at their motor pool, taking out a few Ghosts that were parked and damaging a nearby Revenant; 2) he has also gunned down quite a few enemy personnel with his minigun, and 3) Gym created a white hole right where he thought the communications tent was. However, as Gym was turning away from the camp to head back, the Spartan came out from another tent and reacted.

Zach had instantly gotten out of his tent when he heard the commotion. Seeing the giant robot, Zach grabbed a passing insurgent and took his weapon: a relatively old M6 Nonlinear Rifle. Zach charged the weapon, and as Gym was turning away, he fired.

The scarlet cluster of high intensity light beams literally burned through Gym's left shoulder plate. It also severed his arm right at the shoulder, and the beam continued until it finally ended on the side of a hill. Gym stumbled, and as the Toshigan were rushing in for the final blow, the robot disappeared. Zach's face went red in fury. "All of you," he shouted out. "I want you to find that village, and wipe it off the map! Wolfpack, you are going after the damn shithead excuse for a Spartan, am I understood?!"

A chorus of 'ayes!' followed. After all, who the hell wanted to be in front of an angry Spartan super-soldier?

Gym appeared about three miles away, right where there was a ditch to fall into. That somehow managed to cause the primary hydraulic in Gym's right knee to pop. When Gym got up, he found that he couldn't put most of his weight on that side. Now, leaking vital coolant and processing fluid, and with a blown leg, Gym rushed back to the village.

[][][]

Coyote stumbled out of the house, his body now back to normal. Even after all this time, Rahne was still a hell of a mate. Although, looking back, the power nap he took right next to her was definitely worth it. Coyote looked over to the Hog, where Mother and Varak were having a talk about what was a better way to ambush a target; a two pound block of C8 plastic explosive from Mother, or a delayed firestorm spell from Varak. Kat wasn't joining in, if only because she was checking the newly delivered weapons over. Coyote smirked good naturedly as he looked at the dragon. "Report."

Varak turned to look at Coyote grimly. "Sir, we have a problem," he said simply. Coyote stood there, arms crossed and waiting. It wouldn't be the first time that he had problems. Most of them came from his own chain of command and from Congress. "We have hostiles occupying an outpost of ours, based in this 'verse too. Made the Toshigan attack us to initiate the lockdown, and the used the comm blackout to take it over," Varak explained.

Coyote grimaced. Damn, this was even worse than all the _normal_ bullshit Congress bitched and complained about so far this year. "Fuck," the human swore. "So, what's the good news?" he asked.

"Sir, that **was** the good news."

Coyote sighed, cracking his neck. "Okaay, so, what in the name of Bob are we fighting now?" Varak was about to answer when Gym came in through the gate, left arm missing, right leg busted, and leaking fluid. Kat jumped up, horrified as Gym collapsed on the ground.

"GYM! OHMYGOD, What happened?!" Kat cried out as she skidded to a stop right next to the bot. The robot looked at her as she cradled its boxy head, the four blue 'eyes' glowing dimly. He then took out a memory chip and gently put it in Kat's hands.

"S-Saaave…v-v-vill-aaage…." Came the strained, weak, and totally unexpected response from Gym. Before Kat, or anybody else could speak, the lights in Gym's eyes dimmed, and then extinguished; with a quiet whir, Gym's body fell limp.

Coyote was stunned; hell, everyone present was stunned. Being a soldier meant that death was often right around the corner, more so for anyone in Special Operations. This being said, it did nothing to prep Coyote for this. Gym was an XM105 _Warhound_ class Autonomous Assault Drone. For Gym to take that much damage was rather shocking, simply because Gym was designed to kill 'Pride' class SINs. He walked over to Kat and kneeled next to her. The young soldier flinched when he touched her shoulder, but otherwise was still. "Desserich? Katherine? Kat?" Coyote asked gently, watching as Kat sniffled, tears falling from her eyes.

"Sir? H-he's gone, …isn't he?" she asked sobbing, head low. Coyote looked down.

"Yeah," he answered simply, not wanting to beat around the bush. "Kat, we need you to be focused. It's what Gym would have wanted. Now, the chip?" Kat handed the chip over to him as she, Mother, and Varak went and picked Gym up, hauling him to the Hog's troop bay. Coyote, for his part, slid the chip into his TACPAD and watched the recon video. He saw the camp that Zack had, and the number of enemies that he had to face. Looking up, Coyote saw Firefist looking at the unmoving form of Gym in shock.

"What is the matter Coyote?" Firefist asked. Coyote sighed and rubbed his temples, the beginnings of a killer headache forming.

"We need you to evac the area. We have a lot of hostiles inbound to make sure that nothing stops them from completing their objective," Coyote explained. "We're going to pro-"

"NO, We will _**not**_ run away!" Firefist said angrily to Coyote, a Kyuubimon beside him nodding. Coyote opened his mouth just as Firefist continued. "If you plan on stalling whatever it is that is coming, then our warriors can double that time!"

Coyote was stunned. "Sir, you can't, you have no idea what you're dealing with here!" Coyote said, agitation clear in his voice. Seeing the hard face that Firefist gave him, he relented. "Fine, but we only have two, three hours at _most_ before they can get here. That means I need all the warriors who're staying here to help defend to know how to operate that equipment," Coyote pointed to the MGs, "And to know when to take cover. Clear?" Firefist nodded. Coyote looked over to Mother. "Mother, Firefist has some troops who need a crash course on how to use a Ma-Deuce, think you can oblige?"

"Hell yeah sir!" the former Marine shouted as she shoved one of the machine guns in question roughly into the arms of a Renamon warrior, causing him to grunt in pain. "I'll treat them like my kid brother."

"What kid brother?" Varak asked sarcastically. "You don't have one!"

"Exactly!" Mother said happily, like it was the best thing in the world. "And that means I can act like my mother!"

"Who was also a Marine," Varak commented dryly.

Coyote decided to ignore the banter between his medic and demowoman just as Rahne came out and saw all the new activity going about. She looked at Coyote in confusion. "Gabe, what's going on?" she asked, the kitsune walking over to her mate. Coyote gulped as he looked at her.

"Rahne, I…I need you to leave the village okay?" Coyote said sadly. Rahne was first shocked, and then, she got angry. Really, _really¸_angry.

"W-w-what are you talking about?! Gabe, we _just_ got back together and now you are telling me to leave?! Wha, are you _insane_?" she said furiously, just before Coyote simply burst.

"Rahne, there is an army at our front door and I **have** to make sure that as many villagers as possible get out of here alive!Now I know that we just got back together, but making sure that you're alive is more important to me than my own life!" the lieutenant colonel shouted, any trace of calm gone out the window. Firefist took several steps back in shock, and almost everyone else just stood there in fear.

Rahne was stunned. She was confused as Hell. She was furious at Gabe for him telling her to leave, furious that there was an army about to attack her village, and furious at herself for being so damn stubborn. "Gabe, I will not leave! Do you understand that? You left once, and I will not let it happen again!" she shouted back, fangs bared.

Coyote slammed his fist into the side of the Hog, denting the titanium chassis in his anger. "Rahne, I am not prepared to worry about your status in a firefight! I don't want to lose you again!" The took a step away from the Hog, his face suddenly weary and aged. "I can't…I can't lose you again. Not for forever," he whispered to her, head hung down. Rahne stayed silent for a moment, her eyes tearing up. Without another word, she turned around and went back to the house, her tail flicking angrily.

Firefist stood there awkwardly, and then spotted some of his warriors milling about. "You, go to the one known as Mother and do what she says! I want the wall repaired the best it can before tonight!" he yelled. Renamon soon scrambled to their assigned tasks, eager to get away from what they had just seen. Firefist took one last look at Coyote before he left to help prepare for the coming fight.

Kat slowly walked over to Coyote. "S-Sir?" she asked hesitantly, hand almost touching his shoulder in compassion. Coyote stood up straight and sighed heavily.

"Yes private?"

"Can I…can I help you sir?" Kat inquired shakily, not sure of how to deal with an emotional commander like Coyote was now. Coyote turned, and after reaching into the Hog, gave her his PCW-R.

"Yes, take the shield generator to the village center and prep it. At 1930, I want you to activate it, and head over to the dining hall with the villagers being evacuated. Seeing Kat about to protest, Coyote placed a hand on her shoulder, silencing her before she could speak. "These villagers will be scared, and I need you to be strong for them, okay Kat?"

Kat simply stood there, not sure about what to do for a second. Then she finally snapped a salute and went off to do what her commander had told her to. She may have been a lowly E-2, but she knew why her CO had asked her to do this. It was to spare her the possible anguish of seeing him die, and as she set up the shield generator, she cried in silence.

[][][]

Remus sat in the treetops, watching the villagers and scurry about. He was tasked with providing cover fire for the distracting force, while Wolfpack Company went after the Spartan-V and the Voxin sniper. Currently, he was bored out of his mind. It just seemed that darkness just would _not __**fall**_, but as an assassin, he had to be patient. Which wasn't easy for the ex-infantry Sergeant.

Looking over the walls with a pilfered SRS99-AM3 rifle, Remus spotted what could only be described as a walking tank, laden with all manner of explosive ordinance. Currently, the demowoman was teaching the odd fox people how to use a machine gun and an automatic grenade launcher. Not that Remus really cared, but this demowoman seemed a bit…rough, especially given the fact that she was yelling right in one of the fox's faces when it didn't assemble the MG right.

Remus smiled. Oh yes, he'd have a good time being a . If he wasn't killed on sight first.

[][][]

_Dusk_

Varak huffed in annoyance. The sun had set a little while ago, and there was still no sign of the enemy force that Gym had seen. Kat had, as were her orders, activated the shield generator about five minutes ago, and the faint blue shimmer of the active shielding system was barely visible. Varak himself was ready to start healing anyone who needed it, Mother had taken the Regent turret and was hauling that thing around, a few rockets strapped to her, and Coyote was on the wall with some warriors, his assault rifle at the ready.

Varak suddenly saw movement at the treeline, and aimed his own SMG at it, looking through its scope. He could only gulp as he saw line after line of infantry, with Ghosts interspersed every few meters.

The dragon wasn't sure that the shielding was enough.

[][][]

Mortis stood outside of the village, barely ten meters away from the treeline, and he was smiling. Zack had given the order for him to attack the village so that Wolfpack could do their job, along with most of the chronoinsurgents and some of the Toshigan. Mortis would enjoy this night very much, simply because his blood called for senseless slaughter.

An underling of his soon came towards him. "My lord, we have the village surrounded. All of our forces await your command," he said, the scout's red eyes gleaming in the dark.

Mortis looked down at the scout. "Good," he said, grinning madly. "Start the attack. Leave nothing alive."

The scout smiled wickedly. "Yes m'lord!"

[][][]

The assault started with the low ranking fodder charging the walls, escorted by the Ghosts. They were soon cut down by a combination of the machine gun nests, grenade launchers, diamond shards, fireballs, exploding paper tags, and a hailstorm of lead coming from the village defenders, plus the occasional white and black hole, bouts of sudden aging to dust, and in one case, one unlucky Slaughter-Master was teleported a quartermile into the air. Needless to say, that soldier didn't survive. It was much to the Reavers' shock that the Ghost's plasma cannons weren't hitting the walls; they were hitting a shield that protected the damned village!

Next came the Revenant's, their plasma mortars now bringing the shield back into the highly visible end of the light spectrum. The Moxelus were moving in, using the husks of destroyed vehicles and craters to their advantage. Varak managed to nail one of the wolf-like soldiers in the head with his own SMG, moving on to make sure that people were still in one piece.

"_Sirs, evac is at 50 percent! So far no problems!_" Kat said over the comm, her voice slightly panicky at the prospect of facing what was basically a small army.

Coyote grunted as he fired his assault rifle into the crowd below. "Understood, stay on station!" he yelled back, ducking as a grenade exploded on the shield. Getting back up, he paled behind his visor. The heavy infantry had come out, and they looked _tough_. There were at forty of them, and half of them were armed with what looked like a cannon attached to their arms. With a thunderous roar, the Berserkers fired their pulse cannons at the same time, and with the combined onslaught from the Revenants, which now numbered five, the shields collapsed.

Coyote basically had enough time to yell out "**SHIT**!" right before a pulse blast hit the wall right under him. Coyote hit the ground hard, and felt his femur break in three places, along with a rib on his right side. Looking up, he saw the horde of infantry coming in. "Breach! Breach in the south wall! All units fall back to rally point Alpha!" He saw Renamon jump off the wall, land, throw a few shards, and then promptly get hosed with red-hot spikes. Coyote had somehow lost his assault rifle in his impromptu flight, and was now using his sidearm: an M6D with a fifteen round magazine instead of the normal twelve.

Four mags and a quick reload later, Coyote was busy building a small pile of corpses when he saw a _really_ tall ass fucker stroll towards him. By now, the pain in Coyote's leg was pretty much unbearable, so it stood to reason that most of the shots fired from the pistol missed. Some did, however, ricochet off bits of rubble and kill three Reavers, a Toshigan grunt, and a Lupine soldier in what could only be described as incredibly lucky as hell headshots. Suddenly, Coyote found that the pistol was now out of his hand and feet away, and that a boot was on his chest, threatening to crack a few more ribs. With no other choice, Coyote looked up into the blazing red eyes of Mortis.

Mortis chuckled darkly. "This is the Demon of the Iron Wastes that the Toshigan were so afraid of?" Mortis asked incredulously. "No matter," he went on, not waiting for Coyote to respond. "Your village has fallen. You may have gotten the occupants out, but soon, your sacrifice will be wasted. This world, and all others will be our masters yet again."

Coyote spat a bit of blood onto the inside of his helmet as he retorted in irritation. "Last guy who said that lost two wars and is dealing with rebels at the moment. So you think you'll do any better than them?" The boot pressed down harder, now cracking a few ribs.

Mortis hunched down, snarling. "ALL WHO REFUSE TO WORSHIP WILL BE WIPED FROM EXISTANCE!" he roared.

Coyote looked up into the sky, knowing that somewhere, the real version of him was typing this experience into reality on a computer. "Nah, a single pen stroke will do that asshole," Coyote said bluntly. Besides, that was something that his other self would say.

Mortis snorted as he drew out a borrowed Toshigan Type 2 Machine Pistol, more affectionately and painfully known as a 'Hornet.' "You think the Toshigan could even compare to our masters? They are nothing compared to them! That is why they follow us!"

"Right," Coyote said sarcastically. "And they want to sit at a campfire and sing 'Kumbaya!' They have barely working Rift Pads, which is probably the only reason that you took over ours, am I correct in that assumption?" Coyote could have sworn that Mortis smiled.

"The Dark Kings will rise, after the ten temples are reclaimed, and their treasures assembled," Mortis said, sliding the charger on the Hornet, which, by Toshigan design standards, was also the safety. "You're little village is only the first step."

Coyote chuckled, briefly startling Mortis. "Dude, what in the 'verse have you been smoking? Cause my job description basically says, stop ass-wipes like you! And for the record," Coyote said as Mortis was whacked off of him by a very enraged Firefist, "This isn't my village." Firefist slammed his giant paintbrush into Mortis's side roughly four more times, just before Mortis pulled his pistol and fired.

The first few dozen spikes missed Firefist by a mile. The next dozen impacted in Firefist's left leg and arm. Firefist went down on one knee, and as Mortis was standing back up, Firefist charged, his right fist encased in brilliant cerulean flame. Mortis took out his dagger, a sword for most people, and dashed past Firefist, dodging the flaming punch. Coyote had managed to crawl over to his fallen assault rifle and grab it when he saw the clash. Mortis stumbled, considering that he'd ducked. Firefist stumbled and then fell to his knees in agony. What happened next would haunt Coyote for a long time afterwards. Firefist was dissolving. Not the normal, orderly dissolving into red and white bits of data. No, this was much, _much_ more disturbing. Firefist's data was literally sloughing off in bits, his flesh, muscle, and bone melting in putrid green drops. His cries of terror and agony were heard all around, and Coyote almost puked in his helmet.

What felt like an eternity was in reality only seconds as Firefist melted into a gritty green sand that blew into the wind. Coyote was struck still, too shocked to move after what he just saw. That sword, that nasty green gray jagged blade had killed an Ultimate level Digimon in seconds. Still, Mortis walked back over to where Coyote lay on the ground and aimed the pistol at his head. "Pathetic," Mortis spat out. "No matter what you do, your life is over. Any last words?"

Coyote didn't get to say anything as a red-gold furred blur slammed her flaming fist into Mortis's bottom jaw in marital fury. Mortis was sent flying away, crashing into a nearby house. Coyote looked up into his mate's eyes. "I thought I told you to get out of here," he whispered, the fight now taking its effect on him. Rahne snorted.

"Together in sickness and health, till death do us part as you humans say it my love," Rahne said softly as she lifted her mate onto her shoulders, making sure that he had his weapons attached to his armor. Rahne rushed off, and seconds later reached Varak and Mother, the latter rushing off to some part of the village.

"The evac's complete!" Varak cried out, taking Coyote and putting him in the back of the Hog, where of all people, Sora was staying.

"Where's Mother going?" Rahne asked as she hopped into the Hog. Varak shrugged as he climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the gas pedal hard into the floor.

"I don't know! She said something about giving them something to shoot!" Varak yelled as he ran over a Lupine soldier.

[][][]

Mother was indeed giving the small army something to shoot. If only because she was firing plenty of high explosive grenades, plasma based bullets, and the occasional thrown quarter pound block of C-4. Currently, she was right next to the shield generator, wiring it to explode in a nonnuclear two kiloton explosion. She was just about done when she heard a commotion behind her. She tightened the last wire and stood up, and just barely avoided a knife slash from a Reaver scout. She growled loudly and kicked him hard away, and then blasted him in the chest and head with a fusillade of bullets.

Suddenly, a blade sliced through Mother's armor, and into her left forearm. Now the bad thing about this was, Mother's armor was designed to withstand a grenade going off right in her face, so for a sword to cut through her armor like it was wet tissue paper was quite disturbing. Yes, Melanie McShane, former U.S. Marine, cried out in pain. But then she blasted the nine foot tall bastard into another wall with a Grav Spike from her TMD and hightailed it out of there. After all, she did set the generator to go off in about a minute.

So, it was with barely seconds to spare that Mother, hauling around her gun, what remained of her explosives, Gym's Gatling gun with all four boxes of specialty ammo for it, and her knife that the makeshift bomb went off. And it went off with a spectacular boom. But that was not what concerned Mother at this point. No, it was the fact that she felt like her arm was dipped in molten glass and was burning her from the inside. Taking off the forearm guard, which was also the housing for her TMD, Mother saw with horror that her arm was slowly rotting away. And at the rate it was going, she might not be able to have an arm.

Steeling herself, Mother took out her K-Bar knife, a reminder from her days in the Marines, and stabbed into her elbow. Goddamn it hurt so much! But as the infection started heading towards her elbow, Mother jerked the knife down, slicing through tendon and bone, her forearm now hanging by only a bit of flesh. Blood was practically gushing out, and Mother wasn't even sure how long she'd last as she severed any and all ties to her former forearm. Picking up her limb, she chucked it away, and then fell flat against a nearby tree, the orange glow of the now burning village barely illuminating her features.

[][][]

Remus had joined his brethren in the initial wave against the village, but without any the wiser, he went off into the woods to avoid the fighting. He had heard the rumors about what could do, and he for one wanted to know if it was true. He was not disappointed. Now he knew exactly why the Toshigan lost the Second Temporal War. The that were on the wall picked their targets well, their bullets hitting their mark, and the TMD's powers were a sight to behold. But then the wall was breached, and then things went FUBAR.

He saw the leader get his ass handed to him, and Mortis was beaten as well. Remus almost vomited at the sight of the Taomon being melted alive. And when he saw the Hog drive off, he knew that the battle was over. The Lupine got up and hurried off into the woods. He didn't get far when he heard a massive _BOOM!_ come from the village. Looking back, he saw that the village-or at least, what was now left of it,-was in flame. He almost turned away when he heard a cry of pain. Training said go, common sense said stay away.

Remus's training won.

He went over to where he thought he heard the cry, and was rather surprised to see what appeared to be a demolition specialist leaning against a tree, left forearm missing and bleeding profusely. Quick as a flash, he was on the ground with his personal med-kit open on the ground. Remus quickly jabbed the entire contents of a mildly potent stimulant into the other soldier's neck. That out of the way, he wiped the stump of the arm as best he could, and after the demotrooper stopped struggling, Remus quickly wrapped it tight with what gauze he had. Looking at his handiwork, Remus could only look grimly at the explosives user. Grabbing the weapons, and the odd forearm guard, Remus lifted the soldier up and started moving out. He did not want to get caught deserting.

Although he did wonder how Wolfpack Company was doing with the Spartan.

[][][]

Mortis scowled at the three scouts that made it back to him. Apparently, the mission to kill the Spartan was a complete disaster, as the white furred sniper was surprisingly quite the fighter. In his fury, Mortis lopped off the head of one scout and shot another. He was nursing a bruised jaw when Zack came up to him in anger.

"What the hell happened?!" he asked furiously. Mortis glared at the Spartan-V.

"Those are tougher than they look," Mortis said simply. "And they seem to be able to communicate with the rest of the Multiverse, even with their lockdown."

Zack shook his head. "I don't care! Listen, if you're little force wasn't enough to waste one little village, then we're going to call in some more troops! Maybe those Toshigan SIN units, since you obviously can't do the job right!" he yelled. Seconds later, he was pinned to the tree by a _very_ angry Reaver.

"Do not mock my forces," Mortis said lowly. "They are many, while the forces your backer has given you are the dregs of failed attempts at war. Kind that in mind, _Lord_ Zacuas." Mortis dropped the Spartan and walked away, eager to get back to the camp and kill a few more disposable scouts.

[][][]

Varak stopped the Hog next to a cave, having drove the Hog as far as he could from the village. Getting out, he and Rahne took Coyote out of the Hog and into the cave. Varak immediately tried to heal him with a drop shield, only for said device to spark loudly. Swearing loudly, Varak tore into a med-pack and injected Coyote with several vials of nanite filled fluid. Looking to Rahne, he shook his head. "I don't know if I can heal him like this," he said soberly. "I don't have the tools, or the conditions to help him."

Rahne shook her head in refusal. "Can't you use healing magic or something?" she asked the dragon.

Varak gulped and hung his head low. "I…I can't," he whispered.

Rahne tilted her head in confusion as Varak sighed. "Rahne," Varak explained. "My healing comes from faith, and that is something I no longer have. Haven't since I fought in the Abyss. For now, the best we can do is hope that we can get rescued by someone."

It would be five days later that Ronin would find them, and things getting even more hectic….


	10. Chapter 10

Coyote finished his tale of woe by drinking down a glass of water. Yima looked down in sorrow. "A village of our wayward kin lost," she breathed out. "I…I am deeply sorry. My mate held Firefist in high regard. He won't take his passing lightly. When the refugees come, we'll do our best to house them," she said to Coyote. Coyote nodded his thanks .

"Thank you Ma'am," he replied. "But the ones responsible for this are still out there. Right Tom?" Coyote looked over at the young Spartan.

Tom had been thumbing over an engraved .408 round for his rifle under the table when Coyote spoke. Tom absent-mindedly nodded. "Yes sir," he said. "There's Zack for starters, then the Unami, and then whoever else you guys managed to piss off," Tom added, recalling Ronin's little history of the Dimensional Rift Recon. As a general rule, managed to piss off a lot of people. Sometimes even the buttheads in Congress.

Coyote bowed his head. "How many?" he asked.

Ronin cracked his neck. "When we checked, we were looking at at least two infantry battalions, all of mixed units. A good majority were those shadow freaks, about a third of them were Lupine Moxelus, and the rest were auxiliary troops made with chronoinsurgents and Toshigan Slaughtermasters and at least one SIN," he said to his commander. Coyote smiled grimly.

"So, all in all, we're in a pretty normal day in the field, right?" Coyote asked with a smirk. Ronin nodded. Coyote sighed. "Alright. First things first though, Tom needs to win tomorrow. Once he wins, we can worry about Zack."

"Sir, when the time comes," Tom said coldly. "Zack is mine."

Coyote shrugged. "Sure, just let us disable him for you. We can at least help you that much." Before anyone could register Tom's look of surprise, Coyote suddenly smiled. "But hey, this night is getting too depressing. I say we do something to lighten up the mood!"

Ronin rolled his eyes. "Poker sir?" he asked. Coyote shook his head.

"Nope!" Coyote said back cheerfully. Taking his TACPAD, Coyote fiddled around with it until he smiled even more. Turning it around so that all could see, the commander said happily, "Movie night!" Reactions were mixed. Tom looked at Coyote in disbelief, Rena and her mother looked Coyote in curiosity, Ronin huffed in mock annoyance, Rahne simply leaned into her mate, Varak shouted, and a trio of adorable fluffballs ran into the dining room, excited to know what a 'movie night' was. Coyote hopped off his seat, startling Varak, and ran into the common room. Taking the camera apparatus from Ronin's vest, Coyote Macgyvered a movie projector.

The other's soon came in, and Tom asked Ronin, "Um Fox, is this normal for him?"

Ronin shrugged. "You get used to it," he said simply as he sat down on the floor, wondering just what the hell the movie was going to be _this_ time. Tom and Rena sat together, unsure of what was going to happen. Varak had the position of being used a couch by the three kits, and after Coyote selected the film, he went back and sat down with Rahne. In seconds, the ever quaint "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" popped up the wall, and then the grand crescendo of the opening theme of "Star Wars" filled the air. It was a good thing that Coyote picked "The Empire Strikes Back," otherwise, the total conversion of Tom to nerd-dom would be very damn difficult.

A couple of hours later, the small group of soldiers and civilians went back to Darka's home to rest, and to prepare for whatever tomorrow might bring. Coyote and Rahne grabbed a sleeping roll, laid it out in the back of the Hog, and fell asleep in each other's arms, smiling. Varak was out in the garden, meditating, for once back in his natural form of a somewhat large silver dragon, his scales shining brightly in the moonlight.

Tom and Rena were in the room, getting ready for tomorrow. Tom was fighting his shadow, trying to see flaws in his fighting technique, and Rena was watching him, glad that she had at least told Tom how she felt for him. But yet, the vixen couldn't help but be worried about her…mate. _If Gravis-teme does end up killing him, then what? What can I possibly do_? she thought. When Tom finished about fifteen minutes later, he was greeted by a pair of gauntlet covered arms embracing him.

Tom was a bit hesitant. Not once before had he willingly had someone share a bed with him, but he had to admit, it did have its perks. Feeling a soft, tender kiss touch his cheek, he heard Rena whisper, "I love you." Tom smiled and stroked her cheekfur.

"I know," he answered simply. With a melodious giggle, the two of them soon fell into sleep's embrace.

Meanwhile, Ronin was sitting outside, basking in the moonlight, thinking. The sniper was glad that Tom had finally taken a step to move on from his past, but said past was certainly not moving on like it was supposed to. With that in mind, Ronin had to figure out a way to not only take out that army on his figurative doorstep, but also prevent more from coming. Ronin sighed as he looked over to the part of the house where Tom and Rena lay. If what Darka said about him was true, about Ronin being a warrior, then the general was mistaken. Ronin was no warrior. A fighter, yes, but not a warrior. Ronin had no doubt in his mind that he would receive no ballads, no real recognition for his duty. And for that, he was in a way glad. After all, he was a sniper, and snipers were the shadows in the night that watched over you.

Ronin took off his stealth drive, opened up the access panel, and started tinkering with it. About ten minutes later, the Voxin screwed the access panel back on, satisfied with his work on it. Getting up, the sniper almost ran right into Darka, who was himself surprised that Ronin was even awake at this hour.

"Ronin, is something the matter?" Darka asked.

Ronin couldn't bring himself to look Darka in the eye. "I'm…going to prepare for tomorrow sir," Ronin answered. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Darka looked at Ronin with the eyes of a father. "Ronin, what is it that you're planning?"

"Something that requires only my life on the line sir," was the answer Darka got. Darka stood there, blocking Ronin's path, waiting for a much better answer. Ronin sighed. "Sir, I…I need to save more people before they die. And Tom deserves better. I wish him luck tomorrow." With that, Ronin pushed his way past the retired general and walked away.

Darka sighed. _Young one, I hope you know what you are doing_, Darka thought to himself.

Ronin quietly reached the door to Rena and Tom's room. Opening the room slightly, he checked and smiled slightly at the sight of the two wrapped in each other's arms. Ronin proceeded onward, and slowly walked over to where Tom's armor was laying. Crouching down, the Voxin waved his hand over it, letting his TACPAD scan every nook and cranny of the relatively advanced Orbital Drop Shock Trooper armor. The faint blue light flickered out, signifying that it was done with its job. Ronin tapped his TACPAD, and soon his form blurred out. Satisfied with the result, the sniper left the room, deactivating his stealth drive as he went.

[][][]

As the digital sun rose in the sky, its warm rays were slowly creeping into Tom and Rena's room. As the sun basked the room in its soft golden glow, Tom slowly woke up. Not once had he felt this comfortable, or even well rested in his life. Tom turned his head to look at the source of his present happiness. Rena, that sweet, adorable vixen that stole his heart, was herself slowly waking up, her emerald eyes cracking open to gaze into his own blue gems. "Morning beautiful," he whispered, smiling a bit, not sure, or even caring why he had added beautiful to that statement. But it sure sounded right, coming from his mouth and talking about Rena.

Rena smiled back and pulled Tom closer to her, putting her muzzle next to her neck. "Morning my love," she replied sleepily. "Sleep well?"

Tom chuckled. "Best I've ever had actually." And at that moment, all of their troubles, all of their pains just seemed to disappear. In that moment, the only thing that existed was the two of them. All the while, Tom's heart was pounding in his chest, threatening to burst out of his chest and just make out with Rena.

Pulling her head away from Tom's shoulder, Rena looked at Tom in worry. "Tom, I don't want you to fight today," she said. "It's too dangerous!"

Tom looked at her reassuringly. "And let that creep take you away from me? Hell no," he whispered to her. "Not without a fight."

Rena was about to speak when Tom beat her to the punch. "Look, I know you want to run away from this guy, but then what? We live on the run, maybe settle with the , always looking over our backs for Gravis? No, I love you Rena, and I'll do anything to protect you."

Rena sniffled. "But Tom, what if…what if I lose you?" she asked him quietly. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Tom felt a few tears stain his shirt. Tom was fairly surprised. In all the time that he knew Rena, he had never seen or heard Rena cry, at all.

Tom hugged the vixen tightly. "Hey, look at me," he told her, cupping her face in his hands. Their eyes met.

"But Tom, we…I…we just expressed our love and now-"

"Rena," Tom said, putting a finger over her mouth. "I gotta do this. I'm not fighting for me, I am fighting for you. I need you to be strong for me, and besides, how many times have we sparred together? You know that I'm no pushover! I'll be fine. And now, I have something to fight for," he said softly.

Rena shook her head. "My father and Gravis will cheat, you know that, right?"

Tom chuckled. "Rena," he said to her, "I expect it. I won't let that bastard have you, I promise." Kissing her on her forehead, Tom got up from the bed and stretched. Rena did the same, and the two of them went to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. They went in and saw Rahne, Sora, Varak, and Darka's family eating a light meal of fruit and other grain based culinary food items. Grabbing a roll, Tom sat there listening to the other people's conversations about dreams, worries, and just some idle chit chat. For about two hours, Tom learned some things about not only Rahne, but also the strange pointy eared named Varak.

For starters, he was a dragon, and a silver-scaled one at that. From where Varak came from, it meant that he was what people considered a good dragon, and was dedicated to bashing evil upside the head with a broken hammer to the end of days. Varak used to be a cleric, but then had a mid-life faith crisis; however, due to the fact that Varak was close to a thousand years old already, that crisis might not end any time soon.

Rahne, Tom noted, was a rather unique member of Rena's species. Rahne was, for starters, a natural virus type Digimon, whatever that meant, and was only slightly stronger than a baseline Renamon. Rahne was also a fairly patient vixen, considering that she remained true to Coyote even after the two of them had parted ways in the Real World. That, and she apparently took out several Mega level Digimon on her own, while in Champion Form, quite a feat back in the day.

Excusing himself, Tom went outside for a quick breath of fresh air. Stepping outside, Tom was surprised to see Ronin right there on the porch, dressed in full armor, helmet clipped to his belt. Tom coughed into his arm, letting the other sniper know that he was there. Turning around, Ronin smiled and nodded to Tom. "Good morning," he said. "Sleep well?"

Tom smiled back at Ronin. "Very well actually. Have you eaten yet Sarge?"

Ronin nodded. "Had an energy bar," he said cordially. Looking at the Hog with the Gauss Cannon, Ronin watched as Coyote fiddled around with the damned gun a bit, and the Voxin's smile fell.

Tom noted the fox's expression. "Hey Fox, you alright?" Tom asked him.

Ronin shook his head. Facing Tom, Ronin pulled out his revolver and the bag with the ammunition for it and handed it to Tom. "Make it count Sergeant. I have some things to do real quick," Ronin said. Turning back, Ronin walked off to the Gauss Hog.

Tom looked down at the revolver now in his hands. He had never really noticed before, but the pistol was rather heavy. Tom saw that there was an engraving on both sides of the barrel, depicting a rose bush. But on the right hand side, Tom saw that there was an etching of a young Voxin, carved with uncanny detail. Tom could already feel the history behind this gun that he was holding, and it stunned him. Because for a moment, he could have sworn it had briefly connected with him.

Tom looked back up to see that the fox had already closed most of the distance between the porch and the Hog. _What's wrong with Ronin? He's a bit more emotional than usual, and that's saying a lot considering last night_, Tom thought. _So, why did he hand me his pistol? I can't use it in the fight, same thing with my rifles and sidearm, and my armor. So what the hell is Ronin thinking?_

[:O:]

Coyote had just finished the modifications to the Gauss Cannon, making the magnetic coils about five percent more powerful when Ronin came up to him. Coyote turned to his friend, and rushed to the driver's seat as Ronin got into the Hog. "Ronin, what the hell are you doing?" he yelled, slamming into the side of the vehicle.

Ronin turned to look at his superior officer. "I'm saving lives sir. And I'm repaying a debt." Ronin took Coyote's hand into his and dropped something into it. Ronin teared up for a moment. "It…it has been a great honor, serving with you G-Gabriel." Coyote's eyes widened in shock as Ronin pushed him away, making the human fall onto the ground. The Voxin started the Hog and drove off just as Coyote got up. Looking into his hand as Tom reached him, Coyote shook in surprise and fear. In his hand were Ronin's dog-tags. The same tags first issued to him back in 2017, right after San Madrid. Coyote jerked his head up and yelled out Ronin's name.

"RONIN!" Coyote started to rush off, but was soon stopped by Tom, who then turned Coyote around to face him.

"Sir, what the hell just happened?" Tom asked. "What the hell is Ronin thinking, going rogue like that, there's just no sense in that!"

Coyote's TACPAD beeped, and after Coyote looked down at it, he shook his head wildly. "Nonononono," he said hurriedly. "We have to stop him! Ronin's taken the regulator out of his TMD, and if we don't get to him now, or everything within two miles of him is gone!"

Tom's jaw practically dropped. "Wait, so Ronin's a time bomb now? What the hell is he trying to do, kill Gravis for me?"

Coyote shook his head. "No, he's going after that army you two saw yesterday, maybe disable the Rift Pad that they took over! I mean, normally the E-365 in our TMDs is pretty stable, but only with that regulator. If he just took it out, then we have about a few hours to get it back in!" Coyote explained.

Tom grabbed his head in shock. "That's nuts! He's trying to save lives with an unstable quantum event, and he's not trying to think about the Digimon in the area? Shit, knowing Zack, he'd park his camp near a village! He shouldn't be doing this, I know that the only one who needs to die is Zack, and maybe that tall guy who almost killed you!"

Just then, a pair of Renamon walked out of the woods toward them, a male and female. The female had black fur, with a shockingly bright red mane around her neck. Her gauntlets were red as well, and were adorned with a symbol that looked like a curved scythe with a dot on top. The male was practically her polar opposite, with off-white fur and a golden mane, and on his gauntlets was the same crest that Rena had, only without the additional symbol on the top.

The female looked at Tom haughtily. "Not thinking of leaving are you?" she asked arrogantly. "Because if you do, then you forfeit the match, and your pathetic title of Tamer or whatever the hell it is is null." The male stayed silent, simply watching with an emotionless expression. Well, not quite emotionless; he seemed pretty ticked at his companion's vocal arrogance and general attitude.

Tom looked at the female in anger. "Look," he told her, "We need to handle something, we'll be right back for the fight!"

The female laughed haughtily. "You leave, you automatically forfeit! And then that Moon-fighter girl belongs to my brother!"

Coyote jerked his head towards her, his brow furrowed in anger as Tom continued. "Listen to me! One of our friends just rode off with a device that will take out everything in a two mile radius, and you're worried about a fight?!"

The female rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. "Your friend isn't my problem. Making sure you get to the arena to be killed by my brother is." Tom was about to charge her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tom, don't. She isn't worth it. Besides, Ronin knows what he's doing."

Tom looked back at Coyote in bewilderment. "Wha? Are you insane? You're actually going to let Ronin kill himself for something that might not even work?! There has to be another way, there has to!"

The female scoffed. "Well then, leave, save your friend. Just know that when you do, that Luna is Gravis's, and there is nothing you can do about it," she warned, a wicked smile on her face. She saw Tom lay a hand on his newly acquired revolver from Ronin. "Try it, I dare you," she challenged, smirking. "See where it gets you, _human_."

Tom aimed his pistol at her, only to have Coyote point it down. "Tom, I'm ordering you to go to that arena and kick ass," Coyote said coldly, looking at the female. "It's what Ronin would want."

Before the fur, blood, and bullets flew, the male stepped in, finally speaking. "Vixinamon, go back to Lord Doamon and report to him that they are coming." The female, now known as Vixinamon, was about to retort when he continued. "Now, before you lose any and all sense of honor."

Vixinamon snorted before she walked off angrily. "You better make sure that he gets there Ralismon," she warned. "My brother wants a fight today, and rest assured he'll get it!"

The three males watched as the arrogant vixen walked off. When she disappeared from view, Coyote asked the white furred Digimon near him, "So, how big is the pole up _her_ ass?"

Ralismon growled as he rolled his eyes. "About the same size as my father's, if not most of them," he answered. Looking over Tom, Ralismon said, "So you're the human who decided to fight for my sister. You seem a bit…young, but I have a feeling that you're a great fighter. For a human. But you're either very brave and noble, or very damn stupid for wanting to fight Gravismon."

Tom shrugged. "I won't let that creep anywhere near Rena," he told Ralismon. "I don't care what happens to me, I just want her to be safe. And," Tom continued hotly, "How can you, her brother, let this happen to her?!"

Ralismon put his hands in the air. "Look, I don't like my father's decision any more than Rena or my mother, but you're still just a Renamon, and your father is a Taomon, well, you can't exactly fight him head on," he explained. "Not to mention he's the clan leader, so what he says, goes. I wish you luck Thomas. You'll need it." Ralismon then turned away and walked off.

Tom slammed a fist into a nearby tree. "This is fucking great! Ronin's off on a suicide run, and we can't save him!"

Coyote sighed. "Tom, Ronin…Ronin knows what he's doing. He's simply trying to save you, Rena, and everyone else in this 'verse," he said to Tom. Tom sighed and looked to where Ronin drove off to.

_It doesn't have to be this way,_ Tom thought. The two of them then went and walked off to where the two Renamon had gone. It took them a while, but they managed to reach the fairly large arena. Rena was there, waiting at the entrance of the fighter's ready room. Once Tom was in range, she leapt over to him and hugged him. Two Renamon from Gravis's clan went over to the two lovers.

"Remove all of your projectile weapons and armor, _human_," one of them ordered snottily. Tom glared coldly at the two before complying. Taking off his two pistol holsters, and the ammo pouches for them, he handed them over to Rena for safe keeping. The Renamon then looked to Rena and Coyote. "You two are to report to the royal box," the other said, sneering. "Doamon's orders for you outsiders."

Rena scowled, and then kissed Tom for good luck, much to the disgust of the other two Renamon. "I love you Tom," she whispered as she separated herself from Tom. Soon, they all were leaving when Tom stopped Coyote. "Sir, can you wait for just a second?"

Coyote turned to look at Tom. "Yeah, what is it?" Coyote asked back.

Tom looked at Coyote. "No matter what happens in this fight," he said seriously, "If I lose, you have to make sure that Rena gets as far away from that creep as possible. She…she's all I have left sir. I need you to promise me that he'll never touch her."

Coyote nodded. "I promise. But chances are I won't have to," he said to the Spartan. Looking to the door, Coyote sighed. "Kill with a heart like arctic ice out there, okay? Give that guy a reason to scream like a little girl!" Coyote said with a slight grin, punching the Spartan lightly on the shoulder.

Tom grunted in exasperation. "Sir, I'm serious," he blurted. "This guy doesn't play fair! All I have is enhanced strength, they have powers! Please, I just want to hear you say that you'll take care of her!"

"Tom, you also took a railgun round to the chest," Coyote pointed out. "And besides, the moment you signed that PADD, Rena became family. I won't let Rena come to harm from that shitbag, not while I'm still alive and kicking." With that Coyote walked out of the room, the last thing he said was, "Good luck Spartan."

Tom nodded. "Thank you," he said to Coyote's retreating form. Tom himself turned to the entrance to the arena. Taking a deep breath, he walked through it.


	11. Chapter 11

Arena

[][][]

As Tom stepped out into the arena floor, he could see that the stands were, for one, packed, and second, his opponent was right there in front of him, waiting. The announcer didn't count. "Today's fight," the announcer stated, yelling into a horn, "Is to determine who the lovely Luna of the Moonfighter Clan stays with! On my left, the Shadow Legacy himself, the great Gravismon!" A great cheer erupted through most of the stands. The only ones not cheering were Rena, her older brother and mother, Coyote, Rahne, and the remaining . "And over here, the _Tamer_," the announcer continued, the crowd now booing at Tom, "Thomas." To be honest, Tom didn't really care. He'd heard worse back on Orion. Tom smiled up at Rena before steeling his expression as he faced Gravismon.

Gravismon smirked at Tom. "You don't know what you're getting into human," he said to Tom. Tom shrugged nonchalantly as he got into his fighting stance. Seeing as he wasn't going to get a reaction from Tom any time before the fight, Gravismon did the same.

Doamon stood up in the stands. "The rules of this match are as follows!" he bellowed out, smirking arrogantly down at Tom. "The first to incapacitate or kill the other is the victor! There shall be no human projectile weapons or Digivolving! Powers are permitted! Let the fight begin!" Doamon sat back down as the crowd roared its approval of the 'rules.'

"Last chance human," Gravis growled. "Give up, and save yourself the embarrassment." Tom just stood there defiantly. Smirking, Gravismon turned to the crowd. "Look at this! This human has no idea what it means to fight me! He thinks he can win!" Whirling back to Tom, he continued. "Any bets as to how long he will last?" Immediately, people started betting against Tom, when a single voice rang out.

"I bet, in the place of a friend, that Thomas Walls will not only live through the match, but will also win. The wager is one hundred gold pieces." Everyone, Tom included, turned to see that it was Ari who had said that. Many sitting next to him scoffed and laughed. Coyote hung his head down, knowing just who had placed that bet. After all, the Mirage Casino in Vegas still owed Ronin five point eight million dollars.

"Hey, if you're all done betting, can we just get this fight started?" asked Tom. "Or are you just going to stand there and let your balls talk for you?"

The entire arena fell silent at the taunt. Gravismon himself was stunned momentarily before he rushed forward in a blind rage. "IF IT'S DEATH YOU WANT, THEN I'LL GLADLY GIVE IT TO YOU!" Gravis roared as he lunged towards Tom, fist blazing in dark purple flames. Tom ducked under the initial swing and let loose a swift jab into Gravis's gut, making the Renamon not only gasp for air, but also pushed him back several feet. Tom then backed off, hands up in guard. _You'd think he'd be a bit smarter_, Tom thought.

As Gravismon stood back up, Tom went on the offensive. Tom ran at him and jumped, landing a rather fierce kick onto Gravis's arms as the Renamon blocked the attack. Gravis growled and shoved Tom back, making the human stumble.

As Rena sat next to Coyote, the soldier looked down at something, stood up, and walked away. Rena didn't notice and shouted down to Tom, "Come on Tom, I know you can beat him!" Doamon growled down at his daughter. As he did so however, Rahne looked over at the Taomon.

"I have to ask," she said to the older Digimon, "Do you still remember who I am?" Doamon huffed.

"Who in the valley hasn't heard the stories of Rahne of the Faint Smile, and her village of freaks," Doamon responded. "Your people are useless, weak, and unfit to be Renamon." Doamon then turned his head to look at her. "I am surprised though. I thought you weaklings only lived for three hundred years."

Rahne growled. "Those 'weaklings,' Doamon, managed to stop an assault a few days ago. We only just managed to get out alive," she hissed. "And I will do anything to make sure that they are safe."

Doamon huffed again. "Whatever. Humans have left us weak, degraded us to mere pets. I will enjoy watching this match."

As Rahne and Doamon were talking, Tom and Gravismon had gone around the arena and traded a few blows. Gravismon made a crystal shard and flung it at Tom. Tom narrowly dodged it, and stood back up in his fighting stance. "Oh come on now Gravis," Tom taunted. "I know you can do better than that! After all, I'm only just one human, aren't I?" Tom was caught by surprise by a high powered punch from Gravismon into his gut. Tom stumbled back, dodging another punch, but received a swift knee into his hunched over form as a result.

"_You're useless you pathetic piece of brute-bait!" shouted out Zack, kicking Tom in the side, a feral grin on his face. Tom lay on the ground, groaning in pain as several examiners watched, his mother among them. Zack went down to the ground and wrapped his hands around Tom's neck, choking him._

"_Tokyo Twist Tom! Do the Tokyo Twist!" shouted Devin from the sidelines. Tom eyed the asshole on top of him, and did something that no male should ever have happen to him. Tom grabbed his opponent's chest, pinched, and _-

-Twisted, sending Gravismon into extreme pain. Gravis snarled, and drove a fist into Tom's chest, managing to break two of Tom's ribs. While Tom groaned in pain, Gravis hauled the human up and displayed him to the arena. "Tell me, do you wish for this human to live?" he asked the audience. The crowd roared their disapproval of the idea. Gravis held Tom close to him and hissed into his ear, "After I kill you, I will claim Luna as my mate, and I will destroy and banish those freaks who accompany you!" But as Gravis conjured up a diamond shard, Tom beat him to the punch.

Whipping out his boot knife, Tom slammed the blade into Gravis's neck. "YOU FIRST!" Tom shouted out in fury as he kicked himself away from his foe. Tom landed on his back and rolled to his feet, watching as Gravis stumbled about, trying to take out the four inch blade lodged in his neck. Tom hobbled over to the center of the arena, but before he could do so, Gravismon howled in fury.

"I…WILL NOT…LOSE TO YOU! I WILL NOT LOSE TO A _HUMAN_!" Gravis roared in fury as he began changing his form. Tom stared at the changing monster. _Damn, this guy is worse than a blue sand addict back on Terra Nova_, Tom thought as he backed away. Gravismon then stopped changing. Now, he was standing at eight foot four, looked like a werewolf, and had spiked fur. Although, in mind of how odd the evolution of this world went, those spines were probably more than just for show.

Rena in the split second that time stood still saw the one thing that could save Tom: Ronin's revolver. She grabbed it from Rahne's lap and tossed it to Tom. "All bets are off Tom! Smoke that bastard!"

Tom grabbed the gun and aimed at the monster Gravis had become.

Tom pulled the trigger.

[][][]

The Smith and Wesson .700 2105 revolver that Tom now held in his hand had quite a history. It was crafted on Earth during the initial year of production, and was purchased by a simple man named Victor Crúz. It would then remain in the family on Earth for the next twenty years, until it was taken to the planet San Madrid. While there, the revolver received a handle made out of the native redwood trees, and a floral engraving on the barrel. It then became the possession of a General de Santiago for the better part of three years. It then became the possession of a certain Voxin, where it then became almost as famous as the Voxin, and the Voxin's rifle.

Milliseconds after Tom pulled the trigger, the hammer struck the back of the massive bullet in the chamber. The primer ignited the propellant, causing the propellant to burn up and produce a massive build-up of gas. The gas separated the bullet from its casing and into the barrel proper. As the bullet entered the barrel, the bullet connected the two rails above and below it, completing a circuit that caused the rails to make a rather strong magnetic field. As the nearly three-quarter inch wide round traveled down the barrel, the magnetic field grew stronger and stronger, up until the bullet left the barrel. And as the bullet left, the gas went down a hole in the barrel, driving a small rod to cycle the next round to line up with the barrel.

The first bullet hit Gravis in the hip, and it damn near tore his leg off. The next round hit him in the chest, just a bit over to the left of the right lung. The third round hit Gravismon in the head, and that deleted the bastard instantly. Tom fell to his knees as Rena jumped down to hug him in glee. "You did it! Youdidityoudidityoudidit!" she squealed out into Tom's ear as she held the Spartan close to her.

Tom smiled at her. "Eh, he wasn't so tough," he commented. "He only broke two ribs." Doamon sat there in the stands, watching in horror as his worst dream came true. Ari was collecting money, and Rahne glanced over at Doamon smugly before trying to look for her mate. However, a commotion down on the floor disturbed her. A group of Renamon, led by Vixinomon, were storming off to Tom's position, and Rena was having none of it. She quickly evolved to her Champion form and stood there protecting Tom. Vixinomon was screaming in anger, screaming about avenging her brothers death, when a single voice stopped them all.

"Ronin, NOOO!"

And then, there was light.


	12. Chapter 12

Ronin drove the Hog through the woods as fast as the terrain would allow. It…it was painful saying goodbye to his friend like that, but it was the only way that Ronin could think of that would let him do what he had to do. Sighing, he remembered how he had met him…

:\_/:

_It had been a year since Ronin had been free, one winter, one spring, one summer since Ronin had taken his life into his hands. He was now roaming the redwoods of his planet, looking for game when he noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Without warning, something bit into the side of Ronin's arm, sending jolts of electricity through his body: a tazer round, Ronin realized. He fell to the ground, dirt getting into his mouth as he blacked out when a group of humans swarmed him and proceeded to beat him._

_He woke up in a cell, and was then beaten again, and again, for what seemed like eternity. Eventually, they stopped beating him and just deprived him of sleep. Then it was loss of food. The last thing that Ronin went through as far as tortures went was to be in his cell with no light whatsoever. That nearly sent him over the brink, but every once in a while Ronin would hear a voice. A soft, timid voice, most certainly belonging to a girl, maybe aged five or six. _

_Then one day, Ronin was dragged out of his cell, and into a fairly large cement room. And when he was dropped in the middle of the room, there were three people in front of him. One was his mother, who he had not seen in eight years; there was a little Voxin girl next to his mother, and other than the black tips of her ears, looked like a dead ringer for him, and then the last person…_

_Was General de Santiago._

[][][]

Ronin shook his head, noting that he was getting close to the edge of the camp. Quickly, he activated his stealth gear. But instead of making him invisible, it instead made Ronin look like Tom in full armor. And gunning the engine, Ronin speed off to the enemy encampment.

And for the first time in a long time, Ronin started praying.

"Virgin of Guadalupe, I ask for you to watch over me, a humble sinner…."

[][][]

Zack growled as he looked over at the rather horrid maps that the Reaver scouts had made. "No, I want to be sure that _nothing_ gets in our way!" he angrily told Mortis. "If that means we raze each and every single little village in our path, then so be it!"

Mortis shook his head. "You are impatient," he bluntly told the Spartan. "You can't expect the boy to simple come to us, attack us, and run off, do you?" Before Zack could retort to that, the sound of a Warthog engine reached their ears, along with a few notes of music growing louder and louder.

"Dammit, what the hell is that music?" Zack roared the Warthog crashed into the encampment, running over scouts, unprepared troops, equipment, and then crashed into one of the communications tents. Zack's eyes widened as what appeared to be Thomas got out of the driver seat, got on the Gauss Cannon, and aimed. "SHIT!" Zack yelled as hypersonic rounds started flying through the air.

Thomas fired at everything that moved, wiping out tanks, recon vehicles, and even the ENVY Class SIN that almost ran into him. Eventually the cannon clicked dry, and the Spartan jumped down. Pulling out a pistol, he fired into the running infantry until the pistol ran dry. He was in the process of taking a Toshigan SMG off the ground when he was kicked in the side, flying into the side of a tank. Zack smirked, then frowned as Thomas's form flickered. Walking over to the prone figure, Zack ripped the helmet off, revealing not the freak he wanted dead, but that Voxin that hit him with a white hole. "_You,_" Zack hissed, yanking Ronin to his feet. "Who sent you? Your weakling of a commander?"

Ronin responded very simply. He gave Zack the finger. Shaking his head and grinning evilly, Zack threw him into a steel chair. Making sure that he was disarmed, Zack took off Ronin's TMD and threw it away from him. "Now, can you contact your commander?" Zack asked sickly.

[][][]

Coyote was watching Tom and Gravis fight when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Excusing himself, he moved into the hallway behind the stands before answering his phone. Checking the caller I.D., Coyote immediately activated his phone. "Ronin, what are you-" he said quickly, before realizing that he wasn't talking to Ronin.

Zack grinned on the other end. "_Well well,_" Zack commented, "_So that's what you look like under the helmet. As you can see, I have your sniper behind me, and I will kill him in about three minutes, give or take._"

Coyote stood there helpless as Zack turned Ronin's phone to look at him, showing the Voxin slowly grinning. "_What's so funny?_" Zack asked.

All of a sudden, the automated voice of a TMD in trouble spoke up. "_Temporal Manipulation Device core critical. You have one hundred and eighty seconds before core detonation._" There was silence before all havoc came loose where Zack was. People scrambled to get away from the device, and Ronin looked up at the phone, smiling softly. "_I hope you can forgive a fool sir,_" Ronin said before he started to sing in a low voice. Coyote shook his head as his friend sang the National Anthem.

"_Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?_"

The crowd outside roared as Ronin continued. "_And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,_" Ronin stopped for breath, just as his revolver went off in the arena. "_O'er the land of the free, and the home…_" Ronin looked Gabe right in the eyes. "_Of the brave._"

Coyote shook his head as he sprinted towards the exposed exit out of the arena.

[][][]

Ronin closed his eyes, and he remembered.

:\_/:

_The general had been beating him, calling him a useless, ungrateful sack of fur. Ronin looked up at the man, defiant to the core. The general smirked, and taking his pistol, dragged Ronin's mother over to his field of view. Ronin watched in horror as the monster killed his mother in front of him. Moving onto the little girl, Santiago told Ronin that she was his sister. Yet instead of making the sixteen, almost seventeen year old slave break, it only made Ronin's resolve that much firmer. The walls shook as Santiago prepared to kill her. The general ignored it, and that was his mistake, as an egg shaped thing slammed through the wall next to him, sending the man sprawling to the floor. The guards quickly dragged the girl away screaming as Ronin dashed over to the general's pistol, taking the familiar redwood handle in his hand. He aimed at the man's chest, and fired all five rounds into it, making sure that the man stayed dead. Ronin would have ran after his sister if a voice behind him didn't speak-and restrain him, as circumstances had it. _

"_Don't!" the voice cried out. "You go after her, you __**will**__ die! We can rescue her later, but right now, we need to get out of here, do you understand that!?" Ronin stopped struggling and sobbed. _

"_Ci," he answered. Turning his head, Ronin saw the faint impression of a face behind a blue metallic visor. "Who are you?" he asked. The armored soldier let go of Ronin and backed off, hefting his rather bulky assault gun. _

"_First Lieutenant Monnot, call-sign Coyote," replied the soldier. "Take what you need, and then we're out of here." Ronin nodded, and tokk the revolver, all of the ammunition for it from Santiago's body, and took the rifle he had taken from the bastard's armory and six magazines for it. Running out of the building, Coyote asked, "Hey, what's your name?" _

_Ronin looked to Coyote. "My name is Ronin."_

:\_/:

Ronin sighed. Maybe he wasn't a great warrior, or a good person. Maybe he never could find his sister in this life. But Ronin was willing to wait. And for a brief moment, as the TMD counted down the final seconds, Ronin was at peace.

[][][]

Coyote saw that Ronin was smiling, eyes closed. The time was up, but Coyote wouldn't accept it. "RONIN, NOOO!" he yelled out, just as Ronin's TMD hit zero.

There was a flash of light, and Sergeant Major Nathaniel Jonah Ronin, of the Dimensional RIFT Recon's First Infantry Division, First Battalion, Second Company, was no more.


	13. Chapter 13

A swirl of multi-colored light rose into the sky, lighting the area almost as brightly as the sun in the heavens. Coyote simply kneeled where he was for a brief second, too stunned at what had just happened to move. As the others began moving, well, that was when Coyote finally reacted.

He howled to the skies, his cries of pain stopping everyone. They could all hear the pain and anger in his voice as the human mourned the loss of not only a soldier, but what some knew to be a brother of sorts to him. Tom looked at the lightshow and shook his head. "Dammit Fox, why did you do that?" he asked himself quietly, holding Rena close to him. Rena was more or less thinking the same thing. _Why Ronin, why did you do it?_ the vixen thought to herself. Then it hit her. What Ronin told her not even two days ago. '_When I look at Tom, I see myself._'

The other Renamon present were shocked still until Vixinomon started shouting. "That bastard cheated! He killed my brother! Kill him, kill him now!" They started heading towards Tom, but it was then that Rena Digivolved to her more…regal, and much more deadly form.

"You will not so much as _**touch**_ him you bitch!" growled Rena defensively. "We just lost a friend thanks to your ass of a brother!"

"And I don't care what some useless creature meant to you and your pathetic human!" Vixinomon growled back, far too gone for reasoning. That is, until they heard a high-pitched whine coming from Coyote's direction. They looked at him and shuddered as they saw him standing, his right arm incased in a beam cannon, and aiming at Vixinomon.

"Say that, one more time," he said darkly. Vixinomon scoffed at him.

"Or what? You'll do something just as weak as your little pathetic friend? Guards, kill him for drawing a weapon," she ordered several of her clansmen. They took a step, and that was about as far as they got as Coyote fired Wave Beam shots into their limbs. The Digimon in the arena looked in shock, awe, and fear as the shots all but destroyed the limbs hit, leaving nothing but digitally corroded stumps. Vixinomon was about to enter the fray when she felt something hit her. Hard. She flew into the wall of the arena, and soon had a boot from a very angry human on her throat.

Doamon was about to shout for the rest of the guards to intervene, hell or highwater when he was stopped by Yima. Doamon was about to ask his mate why she stopped him when she gave him a single glare, that all but dared him to test her patience. Doamon gulped as he turned back to the disaster down on the arena floor.

Vixinomon looked at Coyote in fear as he gave the vixen a good look at the cannon that was now crackling with indigo waves of energy. Looking down at her, he said, with absolute seriousness in his voice, "Now, you will listen. You, and your brother, have indirectly killed not only a soldier, but also a friend of Luna's, and my BROTHER. And if you ever, _ever_, insult his memory, or the memory of the fallen members of the Sun-Burst Clan, who, oh by the way, are _my_ decendants, I will end you. It is not a threat, do you understand?"

Vixinomon nodded hurriedly; already, she could feel the effects of the Wave Beam on her fur, her nerves fraying quicker by the second as the electrical surges corrupted the data in her fur. Coyote deactivated his beam cannon and put it away. But just as Vixinomon started to get up, Coyote swirled around and stabbed her in the chest with a pair of crystalline blades! Pinning her to the wall, Coyote leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "This, this is more than what you deserve, _bitch_." Twisting the blades to increase the pain, Coyote let go of the blades and started walking away.

Everyone looked and gave Coyote a wide birth as he walked out of the arena. Ralis turned to his father. "Father, by all rights, and by our own laws, Tom won. Gravismon Digivolved, forfeiting the match. So, in short Father, you may as well say good-bye to my sister," he said. Turning away, he also walked out of the box, heading out of the arena.

Rena looked at Tom and saw that even though he was a Spartan, he was still a bit weak. So, she took his shirt collar into her mouth and flipped him onto her back. Sparing one look at her father, the vixen left the arena, following the D. Rifters out and back to her uncle's home.

Outside, Coyote had walked away from the arena for about fifty feet before falling to his knees again. Coming over to him, Rahne stopped to pick him up, but as she was about to do so, she was stopped by her mate. "Don't" he told her softly. "I…I need to do this." Nodding, she at least helped her mate up, but let go for him to walk back to the manor.

[][][]

They all reached the manor several hours ago, and right now, the surviving D. Rifters and several Renamon were out in Darkamon's garden looking down at a trio of freshly dug graves. None of them actually had a body, save for Gym's, but that didn't really matter. Coyote stood at the front, his face stone-cut and harsh. "Present, ARMS!" he barked. As one, Tom, Varak, Ralis, Ari, Darka, Rena, and Rahne raised their borrowed Toshigan rifles into the air. "Fire!" The seven of them fired a three round burst and lowered their weapons. Coyote repeated the order only two more times, each of them paused for seven seconds. After the last second after the last shot, Coyote saluted the graves. The others did the same, all of them looked at Coyote in sadness.

Coyote put down his arm, the signal for the others to do the same. "Dismissed, burial detail," he said quietly. The others left, all save for one. The two left both looked down at Ronin's grave, a simple cross with a photo of Coyote and Ronin enjoying a day at the beach. They stood there for several minutes, simply thinking about the sniper, and soon, rain started falling. Looking over at Coyote, Tom felt rather uncomfortable at the prospect of asking the question he had in mind. After all the wounds were still very fresh; Tom knew very much how that felt. But for now, Tom simply told him, "Zack's going to pay for this, I swear."

Coyote shook his head. "No, it was all my fault." Tom looked at Coyote oddly. "I never should have been so damn attached to him. I-I just couldn't help myself from saving him on San Madrid." Holding up Ronin's dripping wet dog-tags, Coyote continued. "I never should have been his master."

Tom shook his head. "Hey, he followed you willingly, didn't he?" he asked. Coyote nodded sadly.

"Yeah, but I always made sure to tell him that his future was his own. He chose to be with me, and look what happened!" Coyote retorted, pointing at the grave.

Tom took Coyote's hand and lowered it. "Hey, he followed you because he trusted you. It's not your fault he's gone."

"Yes it is!" Coyote shouted. "He was supposed to be leading Delta on a training mission, and I fucked it up by not leading a mission in months! I trusted him to do the right things, and…I'm going to miss him." Tears were now falling down Coyote's face, lost in the rain like the man they were for.

Tom stood silent for a second, and asked the question that he would have asked Ronin, but never had the courage to do so. "Hey, who was in that photo that Ronin always carried around? I never saw it, and well…"

Coyote sighed. "It was his sister, Kayleigh. She was six when it was taken, right before the Toshigan attacked San Madrid. I remember, that Ronin wanted to run after her when the remaining PDF forces took her away. He fought me so hard, but I told him that he'd have to live to free her. He calmed down, took his revolver and rifle, and became a Drifter," he explained.

"Is she still alive?" Tom asked.

Coyote shrugged. "We don't know. The N.A.W. shut itself tighter than a clam after the assault on San Madrid, so we don't know the status of any of the planets. Best case scenario, she's living a good life, with a good master. Worst case, well,…Ronin never dwelt on that for more than a second," he said.

Tom sighed. He had photographic memory, so if anything, all Tom had to do was look for a Voxin in the N.A.W., whatever that was, that looked like Ronin. _I'll find her Fox, I promise_, Tom thought.

"Let's go inside. God has shed his tears for Ronin," Coyote said sadly. Together, the two of them turned around and walked back into the manor.


End file.
